Shattered: The 14th Hunger Games
by TheAmazingJAJ
Summary: My heart is shattered and the tears keep flowing. I have regrets. I have pain. It won't all go away. But trust is not gone, for even though I am shattered, I can be mended. Follow four unique tributes throughout the Games, learning their past and discovering their future. Only one of them will come out alive, but will they come out intact, or shattered?
1. Of Fire and Flame: Caitlin Wagner

**Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

Life has been a routine for as long as I have remembered: Wake up, eat a small breakfast, and work in the forests, cutting down trees and shaping them into valuable pieces of lumber, before heading back to my small home, eating a small dinner, and sleeping. It could have been so different, though. It could have been a happier routine, instead of tinged with my regret of the years past. If only I had braved the flames and went for my sister, Callie, who was asleep as my parents and I ran out of the house. If only I had ran for help instead of watching in horror as my parents dashed in together for her, swearing to me that they would be back before I knew it. If only I had done something, instead of just sinking to the ground and crying as the roof of my house collapsed on my family, leaving me alone for the rest of my life.

My town had tried to take me in to the orphanage, but I refused. I saw what happened to kids in the orphanage. They withered away, until they were just a shard of their former selves. I left school and started working in forestry at 14, and had stated that way until now. The Games were just a distraction, an interruption for our daily lives to show us the power of the almighty Capitol. I had never personally cared. Life had already taken so much from me. What else could the Games do that I already hadn't experienced? So, on the day of the reapings, I put on some clean clothes, walked to town, and stood in line to get checked in before heading into the square.

Then, I waited as our escort, Lucilda, stood on the stage and read out to us the Treaty of Treason, waiting for us to applaud at the end, as if it wasn't the symbol of our defeat by the hands of the Capitol. But, I stood patiently, fidgeting as Lucilda daintily plucked a slip from the girls giant glass bowl, struggling to open it with her abnormally long nails. After a minute, with a smile of triumph, Lucilda opened the slip, and read out the name.

"Sonya Farrin!"

A small, quiet little girl walked up to the stage, trying to hold back her tears for the cameras eagerly zooming onto her horrified expression. I froze. She was the spitting image of my sister, from the curly brown hair, to the way her pink socks were sliding down her legs to her shoes. And in that instant, I saw my sister in that girl, and did what I didn't do for her in the fire: I saved her.

"I volunteer as tribute!", I cried, stepping out from the sea of 17 year olds, and running up to the stage. As I passed the little girl, she gazed at me with awe, giving me a gap toothed smile as I passed her. And just like that, my sister was gone, leaving just the little girl that I had volunteered for. But, I didn't regret it. As I stood on the stage, and said my name into the crowd, I vowed to myself that I would make my time in the games matter. I would make sure that my sacrifice would not be in vain.

 **Hi guys! I'm TheAmazingJAJ, and this is my very first Fanfic! So, if my writing is bad, you know that I'm just starting out, and if you see any errors, feel free to point them out. I would love to improve my writing, so I'm good with criticism. I'm hoping to finish the story by around April/May, so hopefully I can meet that deadline. So, until next time, goodbye!**


	2. Tears and Troubles: Olive Blake

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I ran down the road, finally free from my morning chores to go to the reaping. I had been helping Mama with the housecleaning, as on my birthday, she had decided I was now a woman, and could help out around the house. So, my birthday present had turned out to be a list of never-ending chores. But, I didn't mind. Mama let me have an hour of play every day before we made supper for Papa and the boys, Johnnie, Frank, and Martin, who all worked in the mines. It was a dangerous job, but every night they would come home with a new story to thrill me, or a joke to make me laugh. Last night, though was a sober occasion. Both Johnnie and I were still eligible to go to the games, so the house had been unusually still, and everyone had been on edge. This morning, I had dropped a hot plate of bacon, but nobody noticed. They were all too nervous.

* * *

I slowed to a halt as I approached the town square. I hadn't liked getting my blood taken for identification last year, and that was when I went with the family. This year, I stayed behind ten minutes to do the dishes and change into my reaping clothes, so the family had gone ahead of me. I mustered up my courage and stepped into line, right behind a town girl. She was wearing a beautiful yellow dress, and I gazed in awe, forgetting about the blood as the peacekeeper zapped me. I looked down in dismay. I was wearing a hand-me-down from my mother, a faded blue dress with ruffles on the sleeves. It was nice enough, but it paled in comparison to the girl's. It seemed like us from the Seam and those from the town were miles apart, from our hair colours to our wealth. I then stepped into my age group, and forced myself to forget the dress as our Escort, Arbor , a man with green hair, dark skin and flower tattoos on his arms, tried to muster up some energy from our audience. He resigned in defeat after the video, and reached into our large- very large from all of the tesserae in the district- glass bowl for the girls, and unfolded the unlucky slip.

"Olive Blake!"

I stared, not sure if I heard him right. "Olive Blake, please join me on the stage!" Arbor repeated, as peacekeepers made their way towards me. It was then when my mother let out a piercing scream, and fainted. I walked up in a daze, wondering if it was all a dream, as other women in the audience and my father hurried to help my mother. Arbor looked worriedly at her, and then asked for volunteers before calling up Konnor Smithers to his fate. The last meeting with my family was dreamlike. My mother clutched onto me, wailing for sadness and asking the world what she could do without her only daughter, while my brothers and father shared sorrowful looks to me. Then, my mother suddenly snapped out of her daze, and unclipped her necklace. It was a wedding present from my father, and was one of the most precious things she owned.

"For good luck", she whispered. I clutched to it, and tears poured out of my eyes as peacekeepers ushered my family out. I would do anything- everything, to see my family again.

 **Well, that's Olive! She's in many ways the opposite of Caitlin, so it was cool writing her. A big thanks to everyone who's read this little story so far, and an even bigger thanks to Daniel Potter 2319 and FanGirlForever19 for following this story. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	3. Of Brothers and Betrayal: Caleb Stamos

**Caleb Stamos, 18, District 2**

"Harder! Harder!" the instructor yelled as he attacked me with an axe, swinging it through the air at me. I dove down, and rolled behind him before throwing a throwing knife at his face. He deflected it with his axe just in time, and then threw the axe at the center of my chest. I dodged to the right, and grabbed a nearby sword to parry the axe held in his other arm. Then, I dove to the floor, making him stumble, before coming back up and stabbing him in the centre of his chest, burying the sword into the chest. The instructor's virtual suit beeped red, signalling that my stab would have killed him, if the suit and helmets we wore weren't bulletproof. I threw my arms up in victory, and then felt a thud in my back, and stumbled to the floor as my suit beeped red. I turned around, and saw my older brother, Seth, grinning as he threw down his dagger and tore off his helmet.

"You can't always expect honourable battle, C", he said, as he extended his arm towards me, and helped me get up. I grimaced at the nickname Seth had given me when I was four and trying to write my name, ending up with a C and a bunch of scribbles on the paper.

"The arena is deadly, and if you're going to win, you have to prepared for knives in your back every time you turn around. You can't trust anyone, or anything."

"I know," I snapped, still sour after my loss while training. "But I'm still the designated volunteer. You can't protect me forever. "

"At least watch out for Carolyn", he said, taking off the training suit and putting it back before walking out of the training centre to our house and to the reaping. "She's a devious one, that's for sure. There's no wonder why they picked her."

"Thanks for the advice," I replied as I headed into our house and changed for the reaping. I was trying to be confident, but failing miserably. I had been training all of my life, and this year all of that training had paid off: I was chosen as the designated volunteer. But, I wasn't as excited as other tributes. I didn't want to be sadistic like Carolyn, who left bruises on every kid she bested in the arena, and would do more if the suits weren't so strong.

The Escort for District Two, a new one who introduced herself as Valencina, was nervous, and had dropped the girl's slip several times. The district grew restless, and Valencina was starting to tear up, before Carolyn, annoyed with Valencina, yelled out "I volunteer!". Valencina drew a sigh of relief, and left the slip on the floor as she greeted Carolyn, who grinned charmingly into the crowd as she took her spot on the stage. Then, it was time for the boys, and Valencina somehow calmed her nerves enough to grab the boy's slip and read out to the crowd,

"William Saffe!" I waited a second, and then, walking out of the crowd, shouted, "I volunteer as tribute!"

"Oh my, another volunteer,", tittered Valencina, who had apparently never heard of Careers until today judging by her confusion. "Step right up, and tell us your name, fine sir!"

"I'm Caleb Stamos," I said to the crowd, and stepped to the back of the stage, next to Carolyn. She grinned, and turning so no one could see her, drew her finger across her throat, before turning back and waving to the crowd as Valencina concluded the ceremonies. I shuddered. What kind of games would these be like with a district partner like Carolyn around?

 **Hi guys! This is Caleb, who is obviously scared by the psychopath volunteer, Carolyn. I can promise you that she'll do some messed up things inside the arena! Hoping that you like the story, and feel free to review if your want to provide feedback on what you think! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	4. Loyalty and Loss: Ed Bowers

**Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

"Watch this, Eddie!" my little sister cried, as she twirled around the living room, and jumped over a threadbare chair, heading for her grand finale, the flip. I caught her as she started her ascent up the couch, intent on landing the flip perfectly.

"You can't break your head before the reaping, Cierra!" I said as I set her down on the floor.

"But I did it when you were late from school yesterday," she pouted, sitting down on our couch with a flounce. "Well, you shouldn't do it unless it's outside," I said sternly. "It's even worse outside", Cierra reminded me, as she got up and walked to her room to change into reaping clothes. She was right. District 6 was just cement and concrete, with morphling addicts sitting on the curbs, begging for money, and a layer of smog from the factories lying over our city like a blanket, choking us and leaving most people indoors.

"Well, maybe I'll clear part of the room for you after the reaping, _if you get ready in five minutes_ ", I called into the hallway. I had changed into my best clothes before walking into our living room and seeing Cierra twirling around the room, leaving fallen books and destruction in her wake. I cleaned it up as best as I could, and waited for Cierra to come back. Sure enough, she was ready in less than 4 minutes, and came out wearing her favourite dress, a white dress with a red sash in the middle, which she kept amazingly clean considering how faded and torn our other clothing was. We walked out of the apartment, and headed to the town square, Cierra walking slowly as to keep her dress clean.

"Some money for a poor soul?" I heard a morphling addict cry, and spun around to see him clutching onto Cierra's dress, Cierra struggling to get free without ripping it.

"Get off her!" I cried, and kicked him in the stomach. He let go of Cierra and fell down, groaning, and we ran for the next block, hoping he wouldn't follow us. Cierra looked down at her dress sadly, see a grey smear at the bottom from the addict's hands.

"Do you think we can wash it off right now?" she asked, looking up into my face hopefully.

"Sorry, but we have to go!" I said, grabbbing her hand and rushing her to the town square, Cierra struggling to keep up. We ran into the square, and got into the long line, waiting to get checked in. After a long period of time, we got our blood taken, and I ushered Cierra to the other Twelve Year Olds, and then ran to the Fifteens. No one paid attention. They were all on edge. I looked to make sure that Cierra was patiently standing with the Twelves, and then focused my attentions to our escort, Oleena, who had been in our District for the past Five years. She didn't like it, and let all of us know every year, by skimming through the Treaty and just grabbing one of the top slips from the girls bowl before opening it and announcing to the crowd,

"Cierra Bowers!"

I stood in shock, and looked in horror, as my sister, at the front of the crowd, walked up to the stage, trying to hold back her tears, but failing as they dripped onto her cheeks. I didn't know how that had happened. I had made sure that I was the one to take tesserae, not Cierra. But, I couldn't do anything to stop it. I would be her only visitor, as our mother had died three years ago, and our father skipped out on us last month, leaving enough money to survive for a while, but not enough for me to stay in school for much longer. I tried to move forward through the crowd, so that she could see me, but Oleena ushered her quickly to the back of the stage and grabbed the boy's slip.

"Edward Bowers!"

The district seemed to gasp in shock as a whole. Siblings had never been reaped together before, not even in other districts. I walked up to the stage, not letting my emotions show, but I watched Cierra's face crumple. One of us would die for sure, if not both. District 6 had only one victor, and he was already too hooked on morphling to help us much. We were doomed.

Oleena finished abruptly, but more positively, as she had just taken part in history. Then, she took us to the visiting rooms. At least we got to be in the same one. No one bothered to come, but I looked over at Cierra. She looked in shock, and came over and sat next to me, sobbing silently. At that instant, I knew that I wouldn't live through the games. Cierra would instead. I would make sure of it.

 **Hello! This is a longer chapter than my other reapings, but since Cierra is taking a bigger part than other secondary characters, I needed more for her. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Do you have a favourite tribute yet? Let me know in the reviews! A big thanks to BabyRue11 for following this little story, and thank you for everyone who has read it. It means a lot to me! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	5. Train Rides Part 1

**Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I stared out of the window as the train went out of one of the many tunnels on this route. There wasn't much more to do. My Mentors were on other parts of the train, and my District Partner, Percy Mathis, was sobbing on the floor, with Lucilda attempting to comfort him, but failing miserably. She had tried offering him sweets, buns, and lemonade, all of which were thrown on the floor as he screamed for his mother. After the lemonade got onto her flamboyant pink dress, she gave up in disgust, and went over to sit next to me.

"So, how is our little lumberjill today?" she asked, and I could barely keep myself from rolling my eyes in disgust. Yesterday, while talking to Lucilda as we boarded the train, I had let it slip that I worked in the woods so Lucilda would stop hounding me about my rough and scarred hands, and she had dubbed me "the lumberjill". I could withstand it as long as she didn't say that to our stylists.

The tenth Hunger games had started what was renowned in the capitol as the best part of the games, the tribute parade and interviews, and every year District 7 had been dressed like lumberjacks or trees. We hadn't gotten many sponsors those years.

Just then, I heard a stumble on the floor, and Joe Feller came tumbling into our train car. He had walked in, but slipped on one of the buns, and had come crashing down with a thump. His fellow victor, Maddie, walked into the room more carefully, avoiding the mess of food on the floor.

"You okay?" she asked, looking at me. Apparently, a lot of the tributes were like Percy, and didn't bother hiding their emotions. I didn't understand it. The more you show your emotions, the more energy you waste that you need for the games. I nodded, and came over to the place where she and Joe had taken a seat. I grabbed a bun off of the table, and sat down.

"Do you have any questions?" Joe said, a little uncomfortably. He had won the games just two years ago, so he wasn't very used to mentoring. But, Maddie had won the third games, so she was well versed in this part of the games.

"Actually, I do.", I said, taking a bite of the bun. "Should I have allies, or not? How should I train in the survival stations? And what do I do if the careers are targeting me?"

"Well, well, well!" Maddie laughed, enjoying how I got straight to the point. "I'm glad you want to know. Let's start with the allies question. Usually, district partners ally with each other if they want to alliance." I looked over at Percy, who was still sobbing into the floor. I didn't know that many tears could come out of such small eyes.

"Maybe should we move on to training..."

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

"Hello?" I said, looking down the bedroom car. I was looking for Konnor. He had ran off after breakfast, and I had to spend the morning with Arbor, who kept trying to talk to me about Capitol trends, which sounded like it was better to die in the Hunger Games then follow those.

 _Say that I would look great with dyed skin one more time…_. The only other person on the train other than the weird red-headed people was our mentor, Gil. He had been the mentor since the first games, as he was appointed one, and had never had a victor. He was used to seeing his tributes die, so he had given up on us entirely.

I heard a small whimper in one of the rooms, so I whipped open the door and saw Konnor trying to break the window. He looked at me and gestured to come over.

"If we can break the glass, when the train slows, we can jump out and run for it!" He whispered, looking at me hopefully. I sighed. Konnor was older than me, at 16, but he hated the Games with a passion, and had been trying to escape for the past day. He apparently jumped out of the window during visiting hours, but he fell down on top of a peacekeeper squadron.

"Come on Konnor, you know the glass won't break. Let's go throw something at Arbor!" I said, walking him to the door.

"Good idea, Olive" he said, grabbing a belt he had strewn on the floor. "If we can choke him, we can use him as a hostage and bargain our way out of the train!"

"You know the capitol doesn't care about him that much," I replied, walking out of the bedroom. "They've probably got a dozen other people who look like trees walking around the city." He groaned, and then nodded and put down the belt. We walked to the living room, back to Arbor.

"You're just in time!" Arbor called, as we walked in. "The reapings coverage is about to begin!" We sat down and watched the large TV show the District One square. Konnor got bored after a couple of minutes, and got some snacks from the tables, but I watched as a monster of a boy and a petite girl both volunteered for their district. The boy was confident, but you could tell there wasn't much going on his head. The girl was the real mastermind there. Next was District 2. A beautiful girl volunteered for them, and she got the crowd really excited, baring her teeth and grinning sadistically. The boy was calmer than the girl, and waited longer than her to volunteer. The Escort seemed to be in a tizzy though,so while she talked to the crowd, I watched the girl turn to the boy and make a gesture, which made him shudder.

"Look! It's District Three!" Arbor exclaimed, pointing at the screen. "I was an escort there for the earlier years, until I was moved to District 12!" I watched the TV, ready to see who their tributes were, when the TV blacked out.

"Oh No!" Arbor exclaimed. "The tunnel must be blocking out the reception." I got up, and walked for food while the train whizzed through the tunnel, worried. If that was what the careers were like, how would I survive?

 **Hi guys! This chapter was fun to write, as I got to expand on the other Tributes for 12 and 7. I have a poll up for who your favourite tribute is in the games, so if you're interested, head to my homepage and vote! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	6. Train Rides Part 2

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

"Well, that's that!" Valencina said, and turned off the TV with a grin. We had been watching the reapings with her and our mentors, Clay and Natalia, and had watched as our 22 fellow tributes had been reaped or volunteered. While Carolyn had been scoffing at most of the outer district tributes, I was taking notes, which Clay had advised me to do.

The District 1 pair would likely be part of our alliance, while only the Male of the District 4 would likely be, as the female was just 12 years old. I had also watched the District 7 Girl volunteer, for a reason that none of us could guess. The other tributes, however were not much of a threat, considering the reapings and their reaction. One girl's mother had even fainted!

"Caleb!" Carolyn yelled, snapping me out of my note writing. "We're getting close to the Capitol!". I closed the notebook one of the red headed servants- Clay had called them Avoxes- had given me when I asked her for something to write with, and looked out of the window. We were approaching the mountains that enclosed the Capitol from the rest of the districts, the feature which helped the Capitol win the war against the rebels. Looking closely, you could even see a couple of crashed hovercrafts that still haven't been cleaned up from the war. I looked back into the train. Valencina was doing her nails for the 7th time since we had gotten on the train, muttering something about electronically controlled hair colours, while Clay and Natalia were talking quietly with Carolyn.

I walked over and sat down next to Clay. He was my designated mentor, and I needed all of the help I could get: especially against Carolyn. When I sat down, turned and looked at me.

"So, what's your reason for volunteering?" he asked, looking straight at me. I paused, unsure of myself. What was my reason for volunteering? I wasn't doing it for the glory, and I wasn't doing it for the reason that Carolyn was: to kill.

"I guess because I'm doing it for my brother," I said, looking at Clay.

"And why is that?" he said, staring at me with a straight face.

"When the notion of an academy started in District 2, my brother was one of the kids who wanted to be in the games. He was in the first class, and worked hard at it. He was even chosen as the designated volunteer. But, the night before his games, the second choice broke his arm and took his spot as the volunteer. They never proved it wasn't accidental, so the second choice, Mart, went in. That was the year after Natalia won."

Clay shook his head. "I remember Mart. He was cocky and underprepared in survival skills. He got separated from the careers and was mauled by a bear. He placed 7th." He looked at me hard.

"If you want to win, you gotta make sure you have the trust of your fellow careers, and trust them as well. Make sure that they know you won't betray them, and they will face against you in honourable battle." Just then, a knife whizzed past my face, and lodged into the wall.

"Oops!" Carolyn cried, and grabbed the knife from the wall, grinning evilly at me. She sat down, and laughed with Natalia. _Yes, I should definitely trust Carolyn…_

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

"This is amazing!" Cierra as she watched the train fly through the tunnel through the Capitol mountains. This was the second day we had been on the train, and she was loving it. She might have been scared about the games, but she had let it go as she found new wonders in the train: Food, Ladders, Television, it was all perfection to Cierra. I had tried letting go as well, but found it strange.

I kept seeing little details that shouldn't be there. Doug, our mentor and lone victor of District 6, didn't want to speak to us. He kept waking up, screaming, and then taking morphling and passing out again. The servants, which Oleena called Avoxes, didn't speak, or couldn't. Even the scenery seemed menacing, as a mockery that the only time we could see this is when we had to go die. Now, we were about to head into the very place which had crushed the rebellion and condemned us to the Games.

It was almost surreal, with lights passing by quicker than the eye could see, and the grey of the tunnel darkening our car. Then, as the train passed out into the capitol, my eyes caught the light and strained to adjust before gazing in awe with Cierra at the Capitol. It glistened in the Sunshine, sleek and modern, and beautiful. As our train started slowing to a stop, Doug managed his first coherent words of the trip.

"Wave at the crowd. They'll remember you if you make an impression." Cierra eagerly obeyed, waving happily and grinning at the crowd, who ate it up, cheering for the little girl in the white dress. I waved too, with the crowd screaming for the siblings who were reaped together, and would face the games together. Maybe Cierra did have a shot. As long as I could make her stand out from the rest, she could come home, and live a long and happy life- at the cost of my own.

 **Hi guys! It's me, and I'm really enjoying writing this story. I'm hoping to write an SYOT sometime in the near future, but first, I would like to get this victor out, so don't expect anything until at least the Games start. I'm glad that I'm done with the train rides, and now I'll do the tribute parade from short viewpoints of each character, and then the Announcers. Until then, TheAmazingJAJ**


	7. The Parade: Triumphs and Failures

**Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I stood uncomfortably, as the cool air in the stylists area hit my bare skin, while my stylist appraised my body critically. I didn't like it. I was modest by nature, and it took all of the self control in the world to keep myself from covering up, especially after what I had to go through with the waxing of my entire body, which my prep team droned on about last year's tributes throughout the procedure. But, I held myself back, and thankfully, after only a few minutes, the stylist made a sound of enlightenment, and scurried off to make whatever horror show I would be wearing. As long as it wasn't a lumberjill…

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

My stylist seemed depressed. She looked at me for a mere moment, measured me, and walked off without a single sound, and the only facial expressions on her face seemed dismayed. I was worried about that. The only things that District 12 looked like was lumps of coal or coal miners, and with the look on her face, it seemed that there wouldn't be changes to that any time soon. My prep team gave me a paper gown to cover up, and then chatted to me about the ideas that the stylist, apparently Akalina, had for me and Konnor. Judging from the way the word "coal" was thrown around, I was doomed for this parade.

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I walked over to the waiting room while my stylists made the finishing touches and additions to his alleged masterpiece, my tribute parade outfit. From the way he had been going on about it, it would be perfection in an outfit. He had dismissed me after 10 minutes of bragging, and then let me eat some food from the table that was left their for my convenience. I devoured it, using it as comfort from the trauma the waxing had been to me. As I ate, I wondered how the outfit would be designed. Tributes from District Two were displayed as warriors, the toughest of the bunch. We were made to seem as if we were as strong as stone. Would my stylist continue the trend? Just as I finished a fourth bun from the table, which I reasoned as carb loading for the arena, my stylist came in and showed me what I was wearing, and my jaw dropped.

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

It was a futuristic looking suit, with yellow flickers and flashes of electricity running through the silver outfit every so often, and gears and pipes attached to the arms.

"You're supposed to be a bit like an engine!" My stylist exclaimed, and looked to me for gratification. I was genuinely impressed. He had managed to stop making District 6 conductors, and design something that could potentially lift me and Cierra above the pack. I gasped, and then realized that he was expecting me to say something about the costume.

"It's.. it's amazing" I managed to stutter, and my stylist squealed before running off to go help his partner to finish putting on Cierra's. My prep team was alive with excitement, and they made sure that nothing could happen to the suit while I was walking to the chariots, a gesture that reminded me of the morning of the reaping. _I could get her home with this…  
_

 **Announcer**

"And here come this year's tributes! My my, this is very exciting. We've just reviewed the reapings, and hope for great outfits from our amazing stylists! And here comes District One in the first chariot, showing a tasteful jeweled Spartan look, which the female is modelling very well, and getting a lot of support from the crowd! And here comes District Two! Oh my! We've got ourselves stone warriors, the stone polished to perfection, and showing every facet of the armor. And wait! The stone had just cracked off and revealed a light warrior look, which is gold tinged and slightly glowing, even with the time being in the middle of the day! The crowd is going wild for District Two, and if you zoom in on those tributes, they're enjoying the way their stylist outfitted them, with silver sword they're holding in the air crossed with each other. Here comes District Two, and…. This might be our first flop of the parade. The stylist has evidently run out of imagination, and has outfitted them with binary code on a black suit. Not a very impressive outfit, and the tributes will suffer for it. Next is District Four, and they're dressed as some sort of warrior fishermen, evidently trying to build off of their career status. You can tell that the girl isn't very comfortable in it though, and she is trying to avoid the eyes of the crowd. Now it's District Five, and they're dressed up in a grey suit that obviously is trying to look like a dam, but is failing miserably. The crowd doesn't like it, and neither do the tributes, as that is another flop. Ooh! It's District Six's turn, and, and… WOW! It's some sort of engine, but it looks amazing! If you look closely, you can see electricity running through it, adding to the coolness of the costume. Do engines do that? I don't know, and I don't care, as those siblings have made an impression in the games already. Well, we have to focus off of them, and look at District Seven, who are dressed as lumberjacks. The costume is OK, and it shows of their weapon skills, but really? Lumberjacks again? Someone needs to fire that stylist pronto. Now it's District Eight, and they have some sort of quilt blanket on top of both of their tributes, joining and trapping them inside the costume. Errgh. It's not very pretty, and the crowd doesn't like it. Let's move on to District Nine, who are dressed as farmers, with wheat decorating their straw hats. A nice vintage vibe, but not very original. Now it's District Ten, who are also dressed as farmers. Do these District have the same stylist? OK, District Eleven is coming in, and they are resembling orchard trees, with an elaborate brown dress and suit, and a green garland around their hair, with little fruits dangling from it. A promising outfit for a promising pair of tributes. Finally, it's District Twelve, and they are dressed as coal miners, with an orange glow resembling fire coming from the costume. Interesting, and definitely an improvement from the years before. Well, that's the tribute parade, and hopefully you've chosen a tribute or two to root for, or even sponsor. I'm your host, Charles Ainsworth, and enjoy this year's Hunger Games!

 **Wow, that was long! I think that the costumes of our main characters were cool, not including poor District Seven, which must be able to hear the curses Caitlin is swearing upon her stylist right now. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	8. Training Day 1

**Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I walked into the elevator, dragging a whimpering Percy behind me. He still hasn't recovered from the reapings, so an exasperated Joe finally just told me to get him to the training centre, and drop him on the floor. He probably wouldn't get up.

Some tributes have been like that over the years. Two years ago, I remember a girl who refused to get off of her pedestal. Instead, she sat sobbing as a career speared her in the stomach.

I bet Percy would eclipse all records of idiocy, though. He had only spoken a few sentences since he was reaped, and three of thems were requests to go to his bedroom.

He had kept me up half of the night with his sobbing, until I had snapped and screamed into his room that he would be crying for a different reason if he didn't shut up in the next minute. I slept like a child after that.

As the elevator approached the bottom floor, it stopped, and the District Two tributes entered it and waited for the elevator to get to the below ground level. We all waited awkwardly- well, the girl didn't. She heard Percy whimpering, and whispered something into his ear that made him stand up straight and turn pale.

Then, when we reached the training floor, the girl elbowed her way past us and off of the elevator into the training centre, her district partner looking behind at us apologetically.

I didn't have to grab Percy this time. He scurried off of the elevator, apparently still in shock from the District Two Girl's whisper. I followed after him, entering the training centre. We were the last tributes to enter, as the others stood around, waiting for the instructor to round us up and let us free to train.

The careers were standing around a corner, talking with each other, and occasionally pointing at one of the other tributes and laughing. There was five this year, as the Four Girl had evidently been shunned because of their age, but that didn't make me feel any more relaxed. In the last Victory from Two, there were only three careers, but they still managed fifteen kills over the course of the games, before facing each other in the finale. The arena that year was a burning desert, so the careers were able to find dehydrated tributes and finish them off quickly.

I wondered what the arena would be these Games. I hoped for a forest setting, as my work in lumber had let me experience it, and gave me skills with an axe.

I was contemplating what would happen in an ocean arena when the instructor walked over to us and called everyone for attention.

"Listen up! You'll all be here for the next two days... " As she talked on about the training schedule and the compulsory exercises, I took a glance at the weapons stations. There were axes, and swords, and knives, and maces, and everything the Capitol could think of to help kids kill others.

At least I had some axe skills. Without them, I'd be going into the arena like a lamb to slaughter. Just then, I saw the girl who had whispered into Percy's ear and scared him half to death point me out to the rest of the careers, and laugh.

As soon as the instructor dismissed us, I walked over to the axe Station, making sure I was in full view of the careers. Then, I grabbed one, and let it fly into the target. Bullseye. I threw a couple more, before unleashing one at a dummy and nearly slicing it in half.

The careers weren't laughing now…

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

Konnor was standing over with a squadron of peacekeepers, none of them trusting enough for him to use the stations properly. He had actually tried to climb off of the roof last night, but had been stopped by a squadron of peacekeepers and a hysterical Arbor. I had personally seen him dragged inside our floor, and guarded by peacekeepers the whole night. I had tried to ignore them, and had in the end, gotten an OK sleep, considering that I was going into a Death Arena for entertainment.

I decided to try the survival stations, considering that most of the District Twelve tributes who somehow managed to survive the bloodbath ended up dying of starvation or dehydration. I remembered last years Games.

Our girl had been killed off in the bloodbath, but contrary to the five years prior, our boy, Ajax, had somehow stumbled out of the cornucopia alive and with a sword. What he wasn't prepared for, however, were the dozens of poisonous berries in the arena.

Ajax was in the top eight, but he was starving. In desperation, he grabbed a handful of strange berries and swallowed them whole. He was dead within the minute.

I tried the test for identifying poisonous plants, and surprised myself with an 87% average. Not bad for a girl who's never seen those berries before. As I walked over to the fire station, I heard yelling, and spun around to see Konnor and the District Two girl arguing with each other. Somehow, the peacekeepers had let him go, and he was trying out the knife throwing station - which the girl had taken for her own. She had glared at any other tribute who so much as walked towards it, and they took the hint, running off to another part of the centre.

But Konnor was stubborn. He yelled at her some more, before walking to the other side of the station, and throwing the few knives he had managed to take. As he walked to the target and yanked one out, I watched in horror as a knife came straight towards his shoulder.

It slashed into his shoulder, and Konnor let out a scream of pain, running at the smirking Two girl . No doubt that that little "slip up" was her revenge, and Konnor realized it as well, lunging at her and punching her in the face before he was grabbed by the peacekeepers and dragged off, the girl giving him a scathing look that could have melted ice.

Then, she walked off to the infirmary, trying to contain the nasty bruise on her left eye. The careers applauded her, and yelled out encouraging phrases in which I caught her name: Carolyn. So, Carolyn wasn't the type of person to be messed with, and no doubt Konnor would be on her hit list. This was a piece of knowledge that could be more helpful than what type of berries can cause hallucinations.

 **Konnor's messing around in the centre, and this time he caught the unwelcome attention of Carolyn. What do you think of her interactions with District Seven and Twelve? Let me know in the reviews, and until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	9. Training Day 2

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

Thwack! The spear I had just thrown had landed dead centre in the dummy's heart, piercing it and letting some stuffing spill out of the back. I relaxed my arm, and headed back to the other careers, watching the District One Male, Valor, spar hand to hand with an instructor.

I walked up to them and watched critically. Valor was bigger than the instructor, and fought offensively. He easily overpowered the instructor, and only by some serious fighting the instructor was able to hold his own. But, Valor never looked away from the instructor, only concentrating on the fight he was in now. If another instructor came up behind him and struck, Valor wouldn't know what hit him.

"Yes!" Valor shouted, as he knocked the instructor down, holding him until another instructor watching deemed it a fight. He bumped fists with his fellow district partner, Gloria, and turned to us.

"Let's see what you've got, Four," he said, pointing to our fellow career, Reefe. Reefe nodded and grabbed a bow and a set of arrows. Then, he notched an arrow and fired at a nearby target, piercing the dead centre. Then, he fired another, and it landed just next to the first, buried into the target.

"Well, well well," said Gloria, grinning. "Looks like the careers can bring home another victor this year."

The rest of us nodded, and walked off to lunch, ready to take a break from training. After all, we had been doing this for years. It wasn't like we needed to perfect any more skills. As we grabbed plates of food and sat down at a table together, I watched other tributes come in for lunch. Most sat alone, likely afraid to trust anyone here. A couple of Districts, like Three and Six sat together, but the rest seemed to not acknowledge the others. As I looked towards the back of the room, I saw the tribute who Carolyn had hit in the shoulder. It was heavily bandaged, and he stared daggers at us, angry that his only shot of surviving the games other than finding another way to escape - the roof had been shut off during the night, and considering the rumours about him trying to escape, made sense that it was another failed attempt - had been almost destroyed. Well, at least he had gotten Carolyn bruised in the eye. Even after an insane amount of ice put on it from the day and night before, you could still see the dark patch of skin below her eye. That was a problem for her stylist…

"Hey! Caleb!", Reefe called, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're going to go to the Axe station and see if the Seven Girl wants to ally with us."

"Cool with me," I said, putting my tray on the discard station and walking back to the centre. "But I'm going to try my hand at the survival stations."

"Hah!" said Reefe, before looking at my face and realizing I wasn't kidding. "Well, you do you!". He ran back to the other careers, who were plotting on which one should go offer the alliance to the Seven girl, while I walked up to the fire station. The instructor looked surprised as I squatted down next to him and asked for guidance. After all, you didn't see careers using survival skills. Usually it was a walk in the park for us in that aspect, as we took command of the cornucopia and all of its riches. But, he showed me how to rub the sticks, and after adding flint to the mixture, I got sparks, and then a small flame flickering in the station. I grinned, and just as I added some dried leaves to the now growing fire, I heard stomping footsteps, and turned around to see Gloria stomp back to the careers, fuming.

"She didn't even consider it!" she cried, her mind clearly thinking of a dozen different ways to off the girl. "She actually said that if I asked one more time, she'd split my little blonde head open, no matter how thick it was!"

I guffawed at the dumb blonde joke, and then cleared my facial expression as Gloria glared at me.

"Don't you start… "

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

I covered Cierra's ears as the blonde from one started screaming obscenities at one of her fellow careers. She tried to wiggle her way out of my grasp, but didn't succeed until I let her go when the girl paused for breath.

"Come on, Cierra", I said, taking her by the hand. "Do you want to try the camouflage station?"

Cierra squealed, and ran to the station, skipping along the way for joy. I had brought her along with me for the last day and a half to helpful survival stations, learning to tie a snare correctly along the way, and Cierra showing an unexpected knack for fire starting.  
But, as the number of survival stations that we hadn't tried yet dwindled to a mere few, I decided to relent and let Cierra try the thing she had been chattering about ever she saw the paints there.

Cierra grabbed a few paints, and then started decorating her arms with elaborate flower tattoos. I followed suit, dabbing my fingers into the brown and black colours, and trying to blend it the same way as the fake trees in the station. I had seen some of the other tributes do this, some with ease, others giving up in disgust.

By the time my entire arm was painted, it looked like a brown blob - nothing like the trees at all. I washed off my arm and watched Cierra blissfully decorating her arms, using as many colours as she could to make her flowers stand out. We stayed there for half an hour, before we had to leave to our floor.

As the training centre closed, we entered one of the three elevators with District Seven. The boy didn't acknowledge us, but just sniffled into his arm, looking down at the floor. The girl, however, looked at Cierra's arms and brightened, tapping her on the arm.

"Your arms are very pretty," she said, smiling at Cierra.

"Thanks!" said Cierra, grinning brightly up at the girl. "I'm Cierra, and this is my big brother Eddie. What's your name?"

The girl laughed.

"It's Caitlin.", she said, and then looked at the buttons. "We're nearly here!"

"Why is that boy always crying? It's like he's on morphling withdrawal. Usually, people I see on morphling withdrawal say things like fu-", Cierra managed to say, before I covered her mouth in horror.

"Cierra… you can't say things like that around other tributes,", I whispered, looking apologetically at Caitlin. She laughed again, and grinned at Cierra.

"It's fine with me! Percy is just a perpetual pessimist, and doesn't enjoy the idea of fighting in an arena to the death."

Percy looked up at the mention of his name, and then started sobbing again, a little louder this time. Caitlin groaned, and then tapped on my shoulder.

"It's your floor, Eddie." I stared at the elevator number, and realized, that in fact, it was my floor number. I pressed exit, and the elevator doors swung wide open. As we walked out, I looked back at Caitlin and Percy.

"Have a nice ride," I said as the elevator doors shut, and the elevator rose to the seventh floor. I then walked into our living room with Cierra, and saw Doug conked out on the floor, with Oleena watching a recap of the last year's Games. She clapped a little when she saw the District One boy win, but then realized that he had just killed the female tribute from Six, decapitating her head off, and guiltily put her hands down as she looked at us, ready to greet us and get us ready for tomorrow's training sessions.

I sat down and smiled, but only one thought ran through my head : _what if that turned out to be Cierra?_


	10. Training Scores and Reveals

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I sat nervously as Carolyn walked confidently into her training session. Day Three had been the day designated to show off our skills to the Gamemakers, and it was tense. For a career, the score was everything. If one of us messed up and got an unsatisfactory score, they would likely be shunned out of the careers, sponsorless and doomed to die. We hadn't seen the others walk back out, so there must have been another exit to the room. Other tributes fidgeted in their seats, obviously wishing that their session could be done and over with. But, most would have to wait a while. I would hate to be in District Twelve. They would have to wait close to two hours, as each session was about ten minutes, with a vary degree of wait time to clean up the room for the next tribute. I hated to sit still for longer periods of time, and always got in trouble in school for making noise and playing with my desk.

"Caleb Stamos!" I jerked my head up, looking at the peacekeeper who called me into my session. I walked through the doors, and looked up to see the Gamemakers watching me intently, ready to mark down what I would perform for them. I headed to the Spear station, and threw it with all of my might at one of the targets. It pierced the the middle, and stuck, vibrating from the force I had used to throw it.

 _Not bad for a first throw…_

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

I waited as Cierra skipped into the room, happy to move after waiting for five other districts to come. I hoped that she would show how she could make a fire. Cierra could get distracted easily, and if she went for the paints first, there was no way to save her score from plummeting. But if she made a fire and tried some of the survival skills, the gamemakers could give her a five or better.

That was something that could intrigue at least one sponsor, especially one who liked underdogs. After a while, the Peacekeepers summoned me in, and I walked into the room, looking at the Gamemakers.

Most of them looked tired, and one of them was talking to an Avox, who was nodding and running out of the room. I looked around the room, and saw with relief that the fire station had been used recently. Then, forgetting about Cierra in relief, I stepped up to the throwing knife station, and gripped it, getting used to how the weight was distributed along the knife, and then stepped back and hurled it at the target. It mercifully stuck, quivering on the right side of the target. I grinned, and grabbed another one. Hopefully, we could pull off a good score, and Cierra would be one step closer to getting home.

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I entered the elevator, and pressed for floor seven, grinning with satisfaction. I had sparred against one of the instructors, and had won without much effort, before showing my axe throwing skills, and trying my hand at hand to hand fighting. After the first few minutes, I was starting to get overpowered by the instructor, and thankfully ran out of time when the fight still looked even between us.

Percy had already left, not bothering to wait for me. He had looked unusually determined when he had walked into his session, surprising me. For a guy who had spent most of training whimpering for home, he could have actually done something in his session. I guess we'd find out when we watched the score reveal. The score reveal was always been broadcasted around Panem two days before the games, letting Capitolites choose who to bet on and who to sponsor, and either comforting or worrying grieving families with children in the games. It wasn't always accurate of who was the winner. Last year, a guy from 10 got an eleven, and was killed in the bloodbath. Nevertheless, I wanted a good score.

* * *

We had all gathered together in the living room, watching the TV as it got ready to reveal the scores. We had eaten dinner nervously, and Percy didn't even bother to take a bite. He was sitting on the couch, watching to see what his fate would be. The TV finally showed the preppy hosts of the score reveals, Lavinia and Carameuse, both excitedly waiting to see what the tributes this year would get. They wasted no time in getting to the point, and eagerly tore open the Male from One's envelope.

"Valor from One, with a...9!" They started to go faster, reading out the names and saying the score before moving on to the next one.

"Gloria from One, with a 9!"

"Caleb from Two, with a 10!"

"Carolyn from Two, with an 11!"

"Byte from Three, with a 4!"

As they kept announcing the scores and gasping at particularly good or bad ones, started to tense, waiting for my name to be called. As they got to Six, I moved closer to Maddie, and we sat they nervously, hoping for the best.

"Ed from Six, with a 7!"

I watched the screen more closely, hoping against hope that somehow, someway, I could get an 8 or over. Usually, Outlying Districts got 5s or lower. I wanted that 8.

"Cierra from Six, with a 5!"

I smiled, remembering the little girl whos decorated arms I had complimented

"Percy from Seven, with a 5!" I looked surprisedly at Percy. What had he done to make the Gamemakers look past his snivelling?

"Caitlin from Seven, with a..."

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

"9!" I gasped. Outliers didn't get nines often. Usually, the highest we got was a seven, and that person was targeted in the bloodbath and killed off quickly. I watched Konnors facial expressions. He wasn't pleased with what he had been able to do for his session, considering that his arm was still healing. He had to stay in the infirmary overnight the night before, and had been taking a lot of painkillers to help him recuperate. It was devastating, and I knew that he wished that he could just get the arena over with. He hadn't tried to escape for the past day, as he now had a tracker on his leg, making sure he was where he was supposed to be.

"Dwayne from Ten with a 3!" I grimaced, remembering how big boy from ten was. What idiocy had he done to lose his guaranteed 5?

"Amara from Ten with a 5!"

"Barley from Eleven with a 7!"

"Kaylee from Eleven with a 6!" I blinked, surprised on how well District 11 had done. Usually, a district had one OK score, and one bad, unless you were a career district. Careers didn't get bad scores. Even the girl from four had still pulled off a 7.

"Konnor from Twelve with a 4!" Konnor frowned, and walked away from the screen. He was decent with throwing knives, but he had lost that ability from Carolyn.

"And, our final tribute of the night, Olive from 12 with a…. 7!" I squealed, and hugged Arbor. He was surprised by my display of affection, but let me hug him before I calmed down. A 7! I had expected just a 5 after I had shown my fire skills and the way I could maneuver the obstacle course. Speaking of the obstacle course, maybe that was a hint for the arena. It did focus a lot on climbing…

 **Well, our tributes have received their scores, and are pleased about them for sure! Hopefully you guys are enjoying the story. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	11. The Interviews

**Caitlin Wagner, 17 District 7**

"Hello, Belinda. Why, hello Belinda! Oh hey there Belinda. How are you Belinda?" I paused reading my script of possible openings, secretly glaring from behind the papers at Lucilda, who seemed to be getting frustrated. I didn't know that Escorts were allowed to show any other emotion other than happiness. Well, I guess you really do learn something new everyday!

"Caitlin, try reading it over again. And, please remember, Belinda is _an actual human being._ You sound like your i-Dog just died."

"I-Dog?" I repeated, frowning at Lucilda in confusion.

"It's the new trend!" She tittered, forgetting about the script and showing me her portable device. "When you want your dog to come out, you just enter this app and press go!"

She pressed it, and an actual dog came bounding out of the phone, wagging its tail and barking in excitement.

"It's a holographic image, but if you pay for the premium version, you can make it a touchable hologram, like it is really there. The best part is, it doesn't have to eat or drink, so it doesn't make a mess on your floors. " I started to suspect that this trend happened after hundreds of Capitolites had demanded refunds from pet shops, asking why the real dog would… well, go on the floor. I squatted down and patted the dog. "What's its name?"

"Calli!" Lucilda squealed, petting the dog and giving it little kisses. "Who's a good girl? You are! Oh yes, you are! Aww, Calli, you are just the cutest little thing!" I tiptoed out of the room, making sure that Lucilda was still wrapped up in Calli. Then, I found the kitchen and grabbed a spare roll of of the table. No more scripts for me today!

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I yawned, tired of the endless questions that Arbor was throwing at me, trying to get me ready for the interviews. This was the part of the games that he really took pride in, getting me to practice walking onto the stage (which I almost flubbed in high heels), finding my "perfect" wave to the crowd, and asking me certain questions to make sure I'd be prepared to answer them in a way that would intrigue the audience.

Personally, it was all going over me like water over a duck's back. I was in no way ready for the interviews tonight, and I wished that I could just skip the whole thing. I wasn't sure, but Konnor seemed like he was actually going to skip the interviews. He had muttered about a place he had found in our rooms to hide, and I knew from experience that he would go through with it.

"Olive! Olive! Your dress is here!" I snapped my eyes opened, realizing that I had actually fallen asleep during the questions that Arbor was asking me. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, and it was starting to show now.

I turned around to Arbor, and my eyes widened as I saw the dress that he held in his arms. It was a beautiful red silk dress, with a pair of sparkling silver (and very high) heels.

"Can I put it on now?"

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

"Hurry up, tributes!" snapped Oleena, a dark look on her face. "It's five minutes before the interviews start, and we still have to get to the ground floor!"

I grabbed Cierra's hand, and took her into the elevator with an annoyed Oleena. She had barely spoken a civil word to us all day, as our mentor was too drugged up to take one of us to prep. As we waited for the elevator to go down, Cierra brushed off her dress again, making sure that it was spotless. It was a replica of the white dress she had worn to the reaping with a red sash in the middle, but it was made with newer fabric, and rubies were sewn into the sash. I was wearing a grey tuxedo, as my stylist had obviously prefered designing for parades rather than interviews.

I had a golden tie on the front, but my attire wasn't my concern. Hopefully, Cierra could ace her interview, because that was her last step to getting a chance at the games. The interviews were the final piece of the puzzle for sponsors, and good ones by tributes usually scored them lots of gifts, _if they survived the bloodbath._

The elevator finally reached the bottom floor, and Oleena walked as fast as she could, bringing us to the rest of the fidgeting tributes, all waiting (or dreading) their time in the spotlight.

Soon enough, it was time to start, and we all watched as the girl from One entered the stage, her face a complete difference from what she looked like after her argument with the Boy from Two. She waved to the crowd, and then sat down next to Belinda, showing the crowd her beautiful dress, and talking with Belinda on how Capitol fashions had changed over the years of the interviews. As tribute after tribute went on the stage, and either charmed the audience or booed off of the stage, I whispered to Cierra to tell them how much she had enjoyed the Capitol. She nodded, and then went back to humming a little tune she had heard from the Tribute Score Reveals. Then, the District Five Boy's time ran out, and Cierra was ushered onto the stage.

 _I just hope she remembers what to say…_

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I watched in interest as the little girl from Six charmed the audience, wearing the same type of dress that I had seen her wear at the reapings, which had inspired many younger girls in the audience to wear different versions of the thing. At this rate, sponsors would be lining up at the dozen for her. My own interview had gone well, Belinda congratulating me on one of the highest scores this year, and me winning the audience over with my sly compliments towards Belinda. It was all a fun game, a game in which I could cement the best possible chance to survive the games, and so far, I was doing well.

I watched as more and more tributes came onto the stage, and then were shipped off, taken to sit with the other tributes. I watched as some of the tributes stood out: the beautiful girl from three, with a black dress and silver highlights in her hair, and her witty banter with Belinda catching the crowd's attention; and the girl from Seven, the one in the elevator, wearing a beautiful green dress with leaf patterns sewn into the sides. That so far had seemed to have been the best outfit of the night, and the crowd believed so too, applauding her for half a minute straight.

The interviews, however, had thankfully started to close off, and I watched in relief as the first District 12 tribute, the girl, walk onto the stage calmly, wearing a beautiful red silk dress that the crowd adored. She had calmly but eloquently answered Belinda's questions, but sniffling a little when Belinda asked her about her family. Her interview was soon over, however, and Belinda waited for the District 12 Male to come in and finish off the interviews. A minute passed, and then two. I could see Belinda impatiently tapping her foot, before an intercom announcing "Could Konnor Smithers please come to the ground floor? I repeat, could Konnor Smithers come to the ground floor?"

The tributes around me started to whisper nervously, and Belinda laughed nervously as she addressed the crowd.

"Well, it seems like Konnor won't be joining us tonight! So, we'll be cutting the interviews short, and good night to all!"

Where on earth did Konnor go?

 **Hi guys! I think the escorts got to shine a little today, and Konnor happily managed to evade security and hide from the interviews. Will he be found in time for the games? Find out next chapter! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	12. The Last Moments

**Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

"Shh, Shh, now," I whispered to a sobbing Cierra. "It's going to be alright. The games are tomorrow, not today, so you can go get a good rest right now, ok?" Cierra nodded and ran back to her room.

Poor thing, she was scared to death of the games. The Capitol and the train rides had distracted her, but now that all of the extra parts were over, it boiled down to one thing: One person would win the games, and the rest of us would head home in a box. I was worried myself.

The Careers were bloodthirsty this year, especially the one who got an 11. If the others were anything like what I had seen her do, it would be tough for an outer district to win this year. I crawled into my bed, and lay there, looking at the walls. It was dark, and comforting: everything the games wouldn't be. I got up, and walked into the kitchen to grab a bit of food. After all, if I couldn't sleep, and the games were tomorrow, I should carb load to get extra calories for the arena. As I grabbed an apple and started gnawing at it, I watched as Doug came into the room, seemingly morphling free, and sat down, looking at me.

"Don't let your sister go into the cornucopia. She'll get slaughtered, and that won't look good for you, as a protective big brother."

"I will do whatever it takes to ensure that Cierra comes out of there alive", I said, staring at Doug straight in the eye.

"Then you'd know that you should always watch out for the Careers. They'll eat you alive, and play with their food while doing it." Doug paused and looked at the wall. He started murmuring something I couldn't make out, and then walked back to his room - the one with the morphling in it. Was being in the Games really that painful? Would Cierra, if she made it out, end up like Doug?

It was a question I wouldn't be sleeping on tonight.

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I woke up early this morning, too pumped up with adrenaline to go back to bed. Today, I would start the Games of a lifetime, and in the next weeks, 23 would perish, leaving only one of us left.

I checked the clock on the wall, seeing what time it was. 3:00 am? I must have really been excited; at least really nervous about the Games. I couldn't tell if I was either of those, because I felt both of them.

Seth was probably glued to the TV, waiting for the Games to start. No one else would be home, as Dad was working in the factory, and Mom was serving time as a Peacekeeper. They loved us a lot and were usually there for us, but would have to watch it at work today instead.

It felt strange, gearing up for what could be my last days. I had volunteered for it, but more out of obligation, to bring home a Victor for Two. I wasn't doing it for myself. I still didn't even know what exactly propelled me into the games.

I didn't want to die, but at the same time, I wanted to head into one of the hardest competition a person could face, and defeat it. Of course, I still had Carolyn to think about. We had made a mutual, unspoken pact to ally with each other and the careers for most of the Games, but I could never tell went through her head. The was the taboo of killing your own District Partner, of course, but I wasn't sure if Carolyn would honour the District bond. I knew from experience she targeted what embarrassed her, and I knew that the District 12 Male would be first on her list. If I somehow did something that put her in a bad light, I could be next…

Tonight would be a night to worry, not to sleep. After all, I might only have so many hours left.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

Konnor had finally been found, trying to hitch a ride with a Capitolite Taxi Driver. The taxi driver had remembered him from the reapings, and had brought him in to the Peacekeepers, while telling Konnor that he was taking him out of the city.

Konnor wasn't very pleased by that turn of events, and I saw the Taxi Driver's bruise on his left eye, and hints of a bloody nose.

Konnor had definite reasons to be mad, though. He had almost evaded the most deadly thing in Panem, the Games, and he had lost his chance to escape because of a Taxi Driver. Now, he was heading into the arena, and with an injured shoulder on top of that. He was in the condition most people would be after a couple of days in the arena, and he hadn't even entered it yet!

"Olive, it's time to go!" Arbor called, excitedly walking me towards the doors. "It's going to be an exciting day! Me and a couple of the other escorts are going to have a viewing party! We'll have a brunch there, and I bet the Escort from One that if one of you makes it through, he has to give you a sponsor gift. If not, I'll have to give one of the One's a sponsor gift! So, make it through today for me!"

 _Were parents allowed to give sponsor gifts?_ I wondered, toying with the necklace my mother had given me. I had kept on me during my entire stay in the Capitol, and so far it seemed to bring me luck, giving me a decent costume, not getting hurt in training, and letting me survive the interviews. My parents must be crying right now, my brothers likely too scared to watch me die, me, their only girl, the one who laughed at their jokes and cleaned up their rooms when they had to work in the mines, the one who they loved.

 _I want to go home…_

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I fidgeted, waiting for the hovercraft to finish its journey and finally land where the Games would be: the Arena. None of us had any idea whatsoever what it would be like, and that was exactly how the Capitol liked it: keeping the Districts in suspense until the games finally began.

I was seated beside the boy from Five, who had spent the entire flight staring at the floor and humming.

I, on the other hand, had spent the flight watching the other tributes. Most were catatonic, like the boy beside me, while others, such as the Careers, were smirking and poking each other. It was like it was just a game for them, while it was a matter of life and death for us.

After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting - for most of us, the last part of our lifetimes - the hovercraft finally descended, and we were ushered out by Peacekeepers to our stylist areas. My stylist blissfully tore off the clothes I wore to the Arena, and had the Prep team put them away and put some mascara on my face as she outfitted me in my last outfit before the games.

"There, darling! You're ready to show Panem what you're made of!" I looked in the mirror along the wall and saw myself outfitted in a thinner jacket, with gloves on my hands, and warm fleece padded pants, warming me up.

"Thank… you? " I said, still a little sour about the lumberjill outfit. My stylist squealed with glee, and clapped a little.

"Great! Now, you've got to get in the tube, so step right in and wait for it to rise up into the arena! Just remember, don't step off your platform until the gong sounds!"

I nodded, and stepped into the glass tube, waiting for it to close. Finally, it shut, and started rising, my stylist and prep team waving goodbye and blowing kisses. I laughed in spite of myself. Even in the face of death, the Capitolites were utterly ignorant in every aspect.

As the tube rose, I looked up to the top, and saw a bright blue sky on top of me.

Game time.

 **Hello! It's me again, and we have another update! I didn't update yesterday because I was working on my SYOT, Distorted, so if you haven't read that yet, you should go and maybe submit a tribute! I'll try to add the bloodbath tomorrow, and I can promise you that one of our main characters will die! Share your predictions in the reviews, and until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	13. The Bloodbath

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

60..

59..

58..

I started hyperventilating. I had just been chuted up to the arena, and I could see that we were on top of a mountain, the golden cornucopia gleaming on the summit. The other tributes either looked terrified, or eager for the games to begin. We were about to die, and all of us knew it, some just sitting down and crying. Why on earth did I ever think that I could ever somehow survive this? Would my parents and my brothers watch me be gutted by a career, left to die on the rocky summit?

45..

44..

43..

A few places past my right was the Boy from Three, looking strangely calm. As I watched him, he took a step, and jumped off his pedestal.

Boom!

36..

35..

34..

I gasped, and watched as the girl next of him screamed, and tried to somehow scrub off the gunk that had come out of him. He had looked somehow happy, though, as if he was no longer a piece in the Capitol's games.

29..

28..

27..

I forced myself to forget the Boy from three, and found Konnor on the other side of the cornucopia. He looked determined, and shifted his bandaged arm, ready to run for the Cornucopia.

21..

20..

19..

I looked to the Cornucopia, and saw gleaming weapons in the mouth, tempting tributes to come closer. Did I dare to enter the bloodbath, was the real question. I would have to make the first, and potentially final choice that could save my Games, or doom me to death.

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

 _I wonder if Calli is watching this right now._ A strange thought to think of when I was about to enter the fight of my life, but the mind does strange things in the face of death. After all, I had volunteered because of my sister. Now, I had to live up to her expectations.

16..

15..

14..

The boy from Three who had jumped off had spooked all of us, including the Careers, and they looked to be somewhat off balance. If I could use that to my advantage, I could come out of the bloodbath with a couple of weapons, and maybe a kill to my name for the sponsors.

I looked to my side, and saw, with surprise, Percy, who looked ready to run into the bloodbath. It didn't seem like a wise choice, but Percy had been defying the norm in his own, strange way ever since the reapings. If he was trying to go for the bloodbath, he'd likely be killed. I hope that I wouldn't be killed off right away. I had no one at home to remember me. Somehow, I wanted to be remembered if I didn't win. The most likely reason would be my volunteering. Not many people volunteered from outer districts, thinking it a suicide mission. But, I had done it anyway and would face the consequences.

6..

5..

4..

Almost time. I saw the careers still stunned by the explosion, and got ready to sprint up to the cornucopia. All I needed was an axe, and I could survive.

2..

1..

Donnnng!

In that second, I ran up to the Cornucopia, slipping and getting myself back up in my bid to be first. I reached it, and grabbed an axe and a pack as I watched one of the careers take care of the huge guy from 10. He collapsed, and I ran down, skidding my way down the mountain to find a place to hide. I could see the Girl from Twelve in front of me, and she had nothing but was running down the mountain. A wise move for her. She would have likely died in the bloodbath, and had just guaranteed herself another hour.

Did I have that much time left?

 **Ed Bowers, 15, District 6**

"Cierra? Cierra!" I screamed as I ran up to the Cornucopia. She had been exploded on by the boy from three, and had tried to rub it off before running up to the Cornucopia. Was she still alive?

"Here I am!" I heard her call, as she came down skidding to me.

"I've got a pack!" She said, holding it up proudly. She grinned at me, but I didn't smile back. I saw a tribute stumbling towards us with a knife.

"Cierra, you've got to run," I said, frantically rushing her down the mountain as the tribute got closer, obviously having cracked from the stress of the games. He waved his knife, smeared with the blood of another tribute.

"I'll get you, oh, I will!" he said, laughing hysterically as he advanced upon us. I shoved Cierra out of the way, and faced the tribute.

"Stop it before I gut you with my sword," I said, bluffing. If he was insane, maybe he would accept what I said and leave, to find another kid to kill.

"No! I'll kill you, and the little girl too!" he said, holding his knife over my head.

I tackled him, and tried to grab the knife, wrestling for control. We tumbled down the mountain, and he finally gained control of the knife, chasing me up the mountain, back to the Cornucopia.

Then, he turned, and gutted a helpless Cierra, shoving the knife into her side.

"No!" I screamed, and i grabbed the knife, stabbing it into his side over, and over. But, he grabbed it back, and stabbed me in the lung, blood pouring out of my chest.

"See? I told you! I got both of you, and there was nothing you could do about it. You see, nothing's going to beat me. I will be the cham- " He cut off, touching his back, and then staring at the spear that was jutting out of his chest, before collapsing, dead. I watched as the Boy from Two spat on him, and leaned down to me.

"Are you OK?" he asked, getting blurry as the seconds rolled by.

"Protect… Cierra." I gasped, before turning over to my side. I thought I could hear music playing. Was it my mother? Maybe, I just wanted to go to sleep now…

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I watched as the boy from 6 faded away, his face paling, and stress fading as he sank into the embrace of death. I bowed my head, and turned to the girl. I might have been a career, but I was also a man of my word, and the boy had told me to at least check on the girl.

I turned and bent down to check on the girl. She was still breathing, her small chest trying to force in and force out air, valiantly still putting up a fight.

"It's OK," I whispered, holding her hand and looking at her face. She gave a small smile and tried to get up. "You're going to be alright, as long as you can get up. Can you get up?"

She tried to get up, and then fell down, a knife slicing her neck.

"You were taking too long, Caleb," Carolyn said as she grabbed the knife. "Don't make yourself my next target."

I glared at her, and she backed off, and as she walked off to the Cornucopia, back to the bloodbath, I knelt beside the little girl. She was so young, and didn't deserve to have died like that. If only I could have stopped the boy from killing her. But, I failed, and she was left lifeless in the snow. I was stained with the blood of my two kills, and now had to carry the weight of letting down a dying tribute.

I turned back, and headed into the bloodbath. I grabbed another spear, and walked into the now dying down bloodbath. The dead deserved to be laid to rest, and I would do it as my fellow Careers celebrated their victories.

 **Hi guys! Caleb's starting to realize that being a career isn't all that it's cracked up to be, and I promise that he'll make a big decision next chapter! Was anyone surprised that Ed was the first to die? Poor guy, he couldn't save his sister, but at least he didn't have to watch her die. Now, I'll do obituaries, so if anyone's keeping track, you'll know who's still alive.**

 **24th: Byte Cordes, District Three Male, killed by stepping off of platform**

 **23rd: District Five Female, killed by District 8 Male**

 **22nd: District Four Female, killed by Valor Mathis**

 **21st: Dwayne Quiken, District Ten Male, killed by Gloria Gagnon.**

 **20th: District Nine Female, killed by Reefe Shoal.**

 **19th: Percy Jarxonnes, District Seven Male, killed by Carolyn Welles. She hated him since the elevator, and he had been marked since that, so with his annoying (and funny to me) attitude, it was his time to go.**

 **18th: Amara Sheath, District Ten Female, killed by Caleb Stamos.**

 **17th: District Eight Female, killed by District Eight Male**

 **16th: District Eight Male, killed by Caleb Stamos**

 **15th: Ed Bowers, District Six Male, killed by District 8 Male. He was the tribute who I knew wasn't going to win, but I loved his sibling dynamic with Cierra. In another life, maybe he could have saved her, but since we know that no Twelve Year Old ever wins, they had to go.**

 **14th: Barley Wixx, District Eleven Male, killed by Gloria Gagnon.**

 **13th: Cierra Bowers, District Six Female, killed by Carolyn Welles. She was fun to write, and she seemed like a really happy person. It's too bad it happened that way, but that's the way life goes.**

 **Well, is anyone surprised at who lived? Let me know in a review! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	14. Day 1: A Shilling For Crossings

**Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I skidded down the mountain, anxious to find a place to hide. I had just heard the first cannons start to go off, and that was a big indication that the careers would start to go on the hunt.

I looked down the mountain as I ran, carrying the axe I had grabbed from the bloodbath and saw a forested arena. The cornucopia was on the top of the mountain I was running down, which was the center of the arena. The arena was forested, with a river running past the side of the mountain, and a grassy plain to the north.

I wondered if Percy was one of the dead. He did run into the bloodbath, but I didn't see him die.

Would he be dead? That was the million dollar question right now, but I wasn't about to try to answer it by heading right into the bloodbath again. Instead, I wanted to make it to the river and swim across, into the forest to hide from the careers.

I finally made it down the mountain, just as the cannons stopped. I had counted 12 as I ran. _Only eleven left to kill..._

I shook my head clear of the thought and made my way to the river. I was about to dive in, when I heard a scream, and then a cannon. I took a step forward in shock, a felt a burning sensation. I jerked my foot back and saw part of my shoe eaten away. The river was acid?

I didn't have any idea that the game makers would do something like that. The Capitol did like seeing gruesome deaths, like the kid who died by falling into a pit of lava a couple of years ago, but why would they include it like this? I could even see little fish swimming in the crystal clear river, scales flashing in the sunlight.

I threw a branch into the river and watched it dissolve into nothing. Yep, it was acid. The fish must be holograms, a ploy by the Capitol to see a first-rate death.

I walked alongside the river and looked for a way to get across. After the careers finished getting ready, the other half dozen of us would be prey to their hunt. If I couldn't find a way across the river, I might be the next cannon.

I was about to give up, knowing that there was no feasible way for me to cross the river when I saw a shadow in one of the trees. It was a girl, the one who had run down the mountain rather than head into the bloodbath, and she was looking across the section of the river, one that had a surprisingly narrow width. I took a step back, hoping she wouldn't see me, and watched her. She threw a branch across and watched it catch in the branches of one of the other trees on that side. Then, she jumped, her small body falling through the air as she grasped for a hold on the other side. Then, her hand grasped one of the solid branches, and she shimmied her way onto the other side of the river.

 _If she could do that, who's to say that I couldn't find a tree to cut down as a bridge…_

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I walked back to the careers, having stacked the bodies in an orderly line for the hovercrafts to collect when we left. It didn't make up for the fact that they were all dead, but it had eased my conscience over their deaths, even though the other Careers ridiculed me for it. As I came up to them, they saw me, and stood up, brandishing their weapons.

"Time for the hunt!" growled Reefe, starting to walk down the mountain, eager to hunt for other tributes. _Eager to destroy families…_

"Aren't you coming, Caleb?" Valor asked, curiously staring at me as the other Careers started to walk down. I noticed that Carolyn didn't pay me any attention, ready to head into the arena, and in that instant, I was oddly happy I didn't listen to Clay's well-intentioned, but useless advice about trust.

"Yep, I'm ready!" I replied, grabbing a sword and walking with the others down the mountain. It was surprisingly rough terrain, with no shrubbery, just rough rocks that could wrench your ankle if you weren't careful. Secretly, I was surprised that the arena was relatively normal this year. Usually, it was a larger than life area, full of twists and turns, and demented landscapes in between. I remembered the first year that the Hunger Games didn't take place in a forest.

It was around the time of the 5th Games when the Capitol was slowly but surely accepting the Games as entertainment when the arena was made up of a melting, icy island. Eventually, water flooded the island, leaving the final two tributes to fight it out on top of an iceberg floating in the water, the other tributes having fallen in and frozen to death.

We eventually reached the bottom of the mountain, making our way towards the river. Carolyn had taken control of the pack and reasoned that the majority of the tributes would want water first. With the cannon we had heard coming from the direction of the river, we took that option, and marched through the forest, hunting for tributes.

As we marched, I watched my fellow careers, looking for any signs of weaknesses among them. Reefe and Carolyn were by far the most exciting to be here, almost panting in anticipation to kill the rest of the tributes and take home the victory for their districts. Speaking of victory, I wasn't even sure if Carolyn cared about winning. From the gleam in her eyes I had seen as she had hacked other tributes to death, especially the little girl, I knew that she volunteered just as much for the killing as she did for honour. Valor and Gloria both told the same story, however, both looking excited, yet a bit apprehensive to the idea of killing other tributes. I knew that they would, and had already done so, but wouldn't leave the arena with a clear conscience.

And where did I fit into this Career Pack? I knew that I already felt guilty for volunteering, but I had also saved another life by doing so. Did that justify what I could potentially do in here? Was it a good idea for me to win? Or should another tribute take the victory?

As I pondered these thoughts, I saw the flora in the forest start to decrease, and then stop altogether as we reached the river. Carolyn had been throwing rocks ahead of us aimlessly, and now, it plopped into the river, sinking, and dissolving into - wait, it dissolved?

Carolyn gasped, and all of us realized that the river was acid, or at least some sort of liquid that could dissolve solid material. If it did that to a rock, what could it do to us?

Just then, we heard a crash, and all of us jerked our heads to the right to see a girl toppling a tree that she had cut down across the river, the small tree just reaching the other side.

Carolyn let out a cry, and all of us chased after the girl. The hunt was on.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I watched as the Careers made it closer to the girl, who had just stepped onto the swaying log, and was balancing on it. If she didn't make it across quickly, she could be the next one of us dead.

Even though I didn't know her, I still hoped that she could make it across. It just seemed wrong for her to die after all of the effort I had seen her put into chopping down the tree. Even though she must have been from District 7, she still managed to cut it down quickly and could be killed because of her efforts to reach this side.

The Careers came closer, and stood at the edge of the river, hooting at the girl, who by now was on the middle of the log. The leader, Carolyn, who was standing at the front of the pack, yelled at her.

"Did you think that you could escape us just because you cut down a pathetic tree? Be real, your time is up. Isn't that right?"

The pack all agreed, except the guy from Two, Caleb, who kept quiet and kept his head down. I gazed at him from among the foliage in my tree. Why wouldn't he be vocal at this point? After all, the pack probably had a sure kill. He should have been celebrating with the rest of them, but instead, he looked almost remorseful.

Then, the girl on the log turned her head and shook it in disgust, infuriating the careers, especially Carolyn.

"Caleb and Reefe! You get on that log right now, and you go after her. It's your kill!" The quiet boy and Reefe, who looked delighted, stepped onto the log, causing it to creak. The girl looked alarmed, but the Careers looked excited and cheered them on. Caleb, who was at the front, was slowly but surely making his way across, making sure that he wouldn't fall off into the acid water. The other boy, however, looked confident as he crossed the log, ready to kill the girl. Soon enough, however, as the log continued to creak, the girl crossed, and sprinted into the forest, not paying any attention to the others. I watched as Caleb crossed, slowly making his way to the end, when a cannon sounded, and everyone, myself included, looked up in alarm. In that instant, the log cracked and crashed into the water.

Caleb jumped for shore and made it to my side a second before the log fell in, but Reefe wasn't so lucky. He fell into the water, screaming as his skin dissolved, his blood staining the surface of the water.

I watched in horror as he disappeared under the surface, his red blood covering the top. The careers looked horrified, but then realized that one of their own was on the other side as Reefe's cannon boomed.

"Caleb! You listen up!" Carolyn cried to Caleb, who was looking a little too happy to be free of the other Careers.

"We're not coming across. You do the same, and we'll meet up with you at the Cornucopia in two days. If you don't show, you're our next target. Now, go get that girl!" Caleb nodded, and jogged into the forest, purposely going in another direction than the way the girl went.

I watched the careers disappear, and then silently pumped my fist in the air. I was safe!

 **Well, all three of our protagonists are safe from the Careers, and we are now down to just nine tributes left!**

 **12th: District Nine Male, fell out of a tree.**

 **11th: District Three Female, fell into the water.**

 **10th: Reefe Shoal, District Four Male, fell into the water.**

 **The Games are starting to get closer to the end, and it's only the first day! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	15. Night 1: Allies, She Wrote

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

The forest was quiet at night.

I had spent the day foraging for any edible berries in this part of the forest. So far, I had found a couple patches of raspberries, but I had also found a berry patch with a red skin and tiny white spots on the berries. I remembered that the instructors had been particularly adamant about not touching in training, and had left it alone. After all, if you're not 100% sure if it's poisonous, you might as well leave it alone.

 _And if you don't leave it alone, you could become District 12's next Ajax…_

As the day wore on, I had found a tall patch of trees with luscious apples on the top. I didn't know if the game makers had programmed the trees to grow such high apples, or if they were like that, but I knew that they were almost impossible to get.

I had wisely refrained from climbing the trees, having watched tributes from other years step on faulty branches and crash down to the ground. If they were lucky, they only got away with a sprained ankle or hand. One girl had fallen on her back and had been paralyzed, lying there in pain until the careers found her, finishing her off quickly.

I had first tried throwing rocks at the branches, but after a particularly nasty squirrel had chased me away from the trees, I had resorted to finding a large stick to hit the apples down. After many, many failures, I had finally found a large stick, almost the height of me, and had managed to hit some of the lower, but still high apples down. Granted, they were pretty bruised after falling ten feet, but after going into the games, they tasted like my mother's rhubarb pie.

By the time I had satisfied my hunger, I headed deeper into the forest, searching for a place to hide from any other people who had made it onto this side of the river. I knew that the boy from two, Caleb, and the girl from seven, Caitlin, had managed to make it over before the log that they crossed over the river on collapsed, but the careers might have found another way across…

Now, I was resorting to throwing stones in front of me, making sure that the forcefield wasn't right in front of me. One of the few items of information I had gotten from my mentor was not to be electrocuted by the forcefield, and I was taking that advice to heart.

I heard a loud hoot in the woods, and I jumped, stumbling into one of the many berry bushes in the arena. The thorns scratched me, and I leapt out with a howl, before clapping my hands over my mouth. If there were any tributes around here, I couldn't let a couple of thorns alert them to my presence.

I kept walking on, trying to listen for any noises in the forest. The anthem should play soon, considering that it always played in the late evening. I could finally find out how Konnor did. I wonder where he was right now. I hadn't heard a cannon since the boy from four had fallen into the river. Was someone else about to fall prey to that trap? Would Konnor, if he was still alive-

I suddenly stumbled again, and then whizzed up into the air, my foot dangling in a rope lashed to a tree branch. I screamed and tried to claw at the rope, bending upwards to grab my foot. Someone had set that rope, and if I couldn't get out now, I would be the next cannon.

I grabbed onto the rope above the knot in which my foot was trapped, and tried to pull myself up. So… close…

My fingers suddenly slipped, and I crashed back down, swinging in the air like a pendulum. My ankle seemed to shriek in agony, and I screamed along with it. It felt like it was dislocated, maybe even broken.

 _Stupid, Olive, stupid. You've got to get out, get up, get away, now, or else your captor's coming…_

As I moaned while trying to get back up to the rope, I heard footsteps and looked to see a shadow of a person start to walk towards me. I screamed and tried to shake the rope off. Maybe my foot could just slip out, and then I'll have a chance. All I want is a chance!

But as the person walked towards me, I gave up. There was no way to get out, no way to stay alive. Hopefully, Mom wouldn't have to watch my death. She'd never get over that…

The person stepped in front of me, and I saw that it was the girl from seven, Caitlin. She was carrying her axe and had a pack on her back as she looked up hesitantly at me. I closed my eyes and then opened them again.

"Please, do it quickly," I said, looking at her in the eye. The girl seemed to hesitate when I said that, and a small feeling of hope started to course through my veins.

 _Maybe I could get out of this alive…_

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I looked up at the girl caught in my trap, dangling above my head. She looked to be in pain from the rope and was looking fearfully at me. I looked away. I was about to become a murderer, and I didn't even have the courage to look her in the face fully.

I had worked so hard on this trap. I had gotten some rope and some food in my pack, and I decided to use the rope as defences, setting up traps in key areas around the area where I had decided to camp. Unless people went around the almost invisible ropes by climbing over trees or walking through thorny bushes, they were almost guaranteed to step into one of them. After running here, I had spent the rest of my day climbing up tree after tree, attaching all of them in those spots, and even digging a pit with sharpened stakes at the bottom of it in a spot right in front of a particularly luscious-looking bush of berries. I had prepared for tributes like the Careers, but instead, I had caught this girl, the one who instead of going into the bloodbath, ran away into the woods, and had found a way across a river of acid without any help, the one least deserving of death. The worst part was the only way to get rid of her was to kill her. Otherwise, I could attract unwanted attention. It was my only option.

I fingered my axe, looking at the handle. If I cut her in the neck, maybe she would die more quickly, or maybe if I hit her in the stomach, it would go more quickly…

 _What am I thinking? Either way, you're killing a girl, a small, little, innocent girl who deserves to live. She's probably done so much to survive, and I'm going to take that away with just a swing of my axe. I might as well get it over with. The sooner her face goes into the sky, the less guilt I have to suffer over her death._

I looked back up at her, fearful of what I was about to do. I dropped my pack and adjusted the axe in my hands. Then, I took a step back and raised my axe.

The girl panicked, and tried to scramble back up the rope, straining to pull herself up the rope, and onto the branch on which it was securely tied. I waited and then watched her fingers give out, letting her fall back down. She screamed as her ankle stretched, and I saw a bruise starting to take form. Then, she seemed to give up again, swinging slightly in the air with her hands over her eyes.

I stepped back again and got ready to swing. I took one swing through the air as a practice one, and hit it into the tree, securely into the wood. The girl quivered as I pulled it out, and got ready to go again.

 _Now, or never._

I swung my axe through the air, and it started to fall towards the girl. My hands remained steady as it came closer, and closer, ready to take care of her, to create another cannon, and…

It sliced through the rope above her ankle, and the girl fell down onto the ground, crumpling into a ball.

Then, she sat up, and looked at me, her face rising as she realized that I had spared her. I still couldn't believe I did. I had been set on killing her, even aiming for her as I started to swing, but at the last second, I realized it wasn't the right way for her to go, and cut the rope instead. Maybe it was because I didn't want more guilt of death on my hands, or maybe it was because she reminded me of Callie. Whatever the case, I had just let her free to go, free to try to survive these Games.

We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, both of us seeming not to want to believe what just happened. Then, she painfully stood up, and looked at me, before turning around and preparing to hobble out of the woods.

Then, the shrill sound of a beep startled both of us, and we stared up into the evening air as we watched a parachute fall into the woods. The girl turned around, and we both looked at the canister falling down to settle on the grass.

It was a sponsor gift. I had seen them being sent to tributes before in the games, but they had to be sponsored by capitolites who gave money to the mentors. That meant that someone wanted one of us to live, and had the money to help us do so.

We stared at the canister, and then the girl spoke for the second time since I had found her.

"Who's it for?"

I bent down and saw the number on the canister.

"It has a Seven, and a Twelve on it. Does that mean it's for both of us?" I said, looking at the girl. She looked down at the canister and then unscrewed it to see a bottle of cream.

"It says on the label that it's for bruises, and there are some bandages under it!" she cried, scooping up the contents and hugging them close to herself. I looked inside and saw a small note. I picked it up, and read it.

 _Better allies than enemies, Maddie._

I looked up at the girl and stuck out my hand to shake.

"Allies?"

The girl looked at my hand and then shook it firmly.

"Allies."

 **Hello! It's me again, and I've finally updated this story! What do you guys think of this alliance, and where do you think Caleb is? No one died in this chapter, so there's still nine tributes left! Here they are now.**

 **Valor Mathis, District One Male**

 **Gloria Gagnon, District One Female**

 **Caleb Stamos, District Two Male**

 **Carolyn Welles, District Two Female**

 **Jaxon Henry, District Five Male**

 **Caitlin Wagner, District Seven Female**

 **Kaylee Faylor, District Eleven Female**

 **Konnor Smithers, District Twelve Female**

 **Olive Blake, District Twelve Female**

 **Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	16. Day 2: Endless Night

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I ran through the forest, stumbling over roots while I held a sword in my hand, trying to get away from a horror of horrors. I had heard it growl, and then a terrifying, blood-curdling howl had arisen from its direction as it came crashing towards me, branches and bushes cracking and scratching against it.

I had been slumbering at the time, waiting for the night to pass by. Then, I had jerked awake at the growl and started running, only taking with me a small bag of supplies and my sword.

I was still running, with no idea of where I was, where I was heading, or where I wanted to go. All I wanted was to get away from the thing that was chasing me.

The Capitol called them mutts, and mutts they were, based off of animals from real life, but with hideous changes. My mother had told me about the mutts used in the war. There were jabberjays, the birds used to spy on the rebels by repeating everything they said by the Capitol, but there was also one other type used, a ferocious bear-dog creature that we people of the Districts had dubbed "Black Death".

Jet black and with monstrous claws, the creature would chase after you with impeccable sensing skills, and then tear your innards out with a mere claw. That's what had killed my Uncle in the Dark Days. He had been marching towards the Capitol right after a gruesome battle which had dropped bombs on the advancing rebels when the Black Death had emerged from the wilderness and had attacked the troop. Only three of the troop made it out alive, and they had been incarcerated by the Capitol for 20 years.

I kept running, hoping to find something, _anything,_ to distract the mutt with or hide in. If I could find a distraction, I could have a chance of getting away…

Finally, I saw a glimmering sight in the distance. I sprinted towards it, and then stopped in shock as I saw it was the river - the acid river.

I turned around and saw the creature lumber towards me. It was being surprisingly slow for the way it had chased after me in the woods as if it was taunting me. I edged backwards, and then stopped as I heard the splash of dirt I had kicked backwards with my shoe fall into the river. There wasn't a way out. I stopped, and stared at the creature, it's mouth salivating as it watched me. Then, it raised its claws and got ready to swing. I brought up my sword and adjusted my grip. I wasn't going down without a fight. Then, I swung and watched the sword travel towards the Black Death.

"Wait!"

I stumbled in shock of hearing a voice, and watched in awe as the head of the mutt crashed into the river, sizzling and dissolving in the acid. I looked up, and saw my sister, Tess, standing in front of me.

"Hey, C. You OK?"

"Wh-what-what are you doing here?" I stuttered, staring in shock at Tess, who had somehow made it into the arena.

"I don't even know! All I remember is seeing you fighting that bear, and I had a sword in my hand. So, I helped you!"

I gaped at her, and then touched her face. It didn't waver, and I felt her smooth skin.

"You're actually here!" I cried, impulsively hugging her. Then, I stepped back and looked in disbelief.

"But… only tributes that are reaped can be in here. How are you here at all?"

"I don't know, but I can help you win!" my sister said, looking at me in the eyes. "If we can swim the river, we can find other tributes, and, well, end them! And you can win!"

"If I swim through the river," I said, looking at her, "I can win?"

"Yes! Come on, jump in, and we can go!"

"How about you go first?" I said, giving her a little shove. "It's your idea, so you can go first."

"You should! What if another Black Death comes? You've got to go, now!" she said, starting to get impatient.

"I think I'll pass," I said, stepping away from Tess. "And you know why? It's because you aren't real."

With that, I shoved Tess into the river, and she fell in with a splash, glaring at me as she came back to the surface.

"How-how are you not dissolving in the acid? You're a mutt!" I said, gaping at her as she started swimming back to shore.

"The acid doesn't work on metal," she said, grabbing a root and pulling her way onto shore. I started to back away, my sword raised defensively. "But, it sure does work on failures like you!"

The mutt who resembled my sister jumped up and grabbed me before jumping into the river. As the water came closer, I closed my eyes and hoped for some way out of this. If there was any, any at all…

Boom!

I woke up with a gasp and saw a boy next to me, his eyes staring at me in a cold manner. Then, he collapsed, and I saw my sword sticking in his stomach, blood dripping out of his wound.

I stood up and pinched myself. This wasn't a dream, and Tess was still dead, executed by the Capitol for rebellious behaviour by the Capitol. It was a miracle that they didn't incarcerate us as well, on the condition that my mother served 20 years as a peacekeeper.

I reached for my sword and wiped it on the grass before staring at the boy who I had accidentally killed. Would he have killed me if I didn't have that nightmare? I didn't know, but I did know that it was another innocent life lost. Perhaps his family was weeping right now, knowing that he wasn't coming back because I had killed him in my panicked dream, where I had thrust my sword in panic and had impaled him. Maybe he had a girlfriend, who was crying into her hands because he wasn't going to kiss her again. Maybe, he was unloved, with no one to cry for his sake. The least I could do was honour his death. I gently straightened his body, and then placed his arms at his sides before saluting the way every peacekeeper did in their marches, the way they said goodbye to their former lives before serving the Capitol. Then, I walked away, the boy ready to be picked up by a hovercraft.

 _8 left…_

 **Hey! It's me again, and I'm frantically trying to finish this story! Did you think the dream sequence was interesting, or a little over the top? Where on earth are the Careers, and more importantly, will Konnor show up in the next chapters? Who will be the next to die of the main characters? Let me know in a review. If you're here because of my SYOT, just know that I want to finish this before really putting my main focus into it, but I will try to get another reaping or two out in the next week! On the other hand, has anyone realized what I'm doing with my chapter titles for the arena? Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ.**


	17. Night 2: Snow Way Out

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I watched the sky start to fade into a gentle, grey night, casting the forest into darkness. I looked over at Caitlin, who was whittling a stick with a knife that she had gotten from the pack. I leaned over and peered at the stick. It was being carved into some type of animal, with a curious tail and a funny little face.

"What is it?" I said, stroking the body gently and looking at it in awe.

Caitlin grinned and grabbed a handful of black coals from the fire. She smeared them onto the wood and turned the animal into a black colour. Then, she took some white coals from the fire she made yesterday and made a funny stripe down the centre of the back of the animal.

"It's a skunk!" she laughed, handing it over to me. I took it in my hand and gazed in amazement, careful to not smear any of the ashes.

"How are you able to make it?" I asked, glancing back at Caitlin while I held the skunk in my hand.

"Everyone in District 7 knows how to carve, especially animals. I learned from my father." Caitlin suddenly turned around and looked solemnly into the smoking ashes. I let it go and went on with my next question.

"Why does it have a stripe?" I blurted out, anxious to find out why. Caitlin brightened up and turned back to me.

"Nobody knows for sure, but some lumberjacks in District 7 have interesting tales about why. Do you want to hear one?"

"Yes, yes!" I exclaimed, jumping up in delight before settling down to listen.

Caitlin sat down on a log and prepared to tell the story, clearing her throat and fidgeting before getting ready to begin.

" _A long time ago, when the earth was new, Mother Nature was giving coats to the creatures of the wood._

 _When the skunk came to Mother Nature, she looked into her bag and pulled out a beautiful black coat, which shone brilliantly and made the animals gaze in awe._

 _The skunk hissed in delight and then put the coat on, before parading away._

 _Mother Nature watched with pride but called out a warning._

" _Do not make the coat more than it is. Remember, it is only a coat!"_

 _The skunk nodded absently and walked through all of the forest, showing the coat to any animals whom he passed by._

 _Every animal agreed that the coat was a very fine thing, letting flattery go to the skunk's head, who showed off the coat even more._

 _When the skunk reached the badger, who was eating acorns, he called to him, "Isn't my coat the finest thing ever seen?" The badger, a perpetual grump, huffed in annoyance and ate another acorn. The skunk, thinking_ that _the badger might not have heard him, said, "Isn't my coat wonderful?"_

 _The badger turned and spat, "Mother Nature has a much more beautiful dress than your coat could ever wish to be. Go away!"_

 _The skunk growled in anger and ran back to Mother Nature. When he got to her, he said, "Mother_ Nature _, my coat isn't wonderful enough for me. Make it even more stunning than your dress!" Mother Nature gasped and stared angrily at the skunk._

" _Skunk," she said, "You have forgotten that your coat is just a coat. You've let your pride grow, and that I cannot allow." With that, she took a brush, dipped it in white paint, and painted a stripe onto the coat._

 _The skunk shrieked in horror, and fled into the woods, ashamed of his ruined coat. He still hides in the woods, hiding his coat from others. Bitter of Mother Nature, he lies in wait for others and sprays any person who comes near, fearing that they are agents of Mother Nature, ready to bring him back to paint his coat even more white. That is how the skunk got its stripe."_

"Wow, that's a wonderful story!" I exclaimed, smiling at Caitlin as I stood up from my sitting position. I stretched and then walked to the pack with our supplies, peering inside to see if I could salvage any food from the remaining packets. There was none, and I closed the bag with a sigh.

"Guess we'll have to look for more berries because there sure isn't any animals around here!" I murmured to Caitlin, who was poking the embers of the dying fire.

"Yes, we'll have to look for some - why does it feel so cold?" Caitlin said, shivering from the cool air that was suddenly filling our campsite.

Just then, a beeping noise came from the trees, and a parachute came floating down towards us.

"Wh-what does it say?" stuttered Caitlin, wrapping her arms around her chest. I peered inside, my breath starting to fog up the silver metal.

"It says run."

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I ran with Olive, sprinting through the forest with my axe in my hand and the pack on Olive's back. We should have never settled there. There had been no deaths since the cannon this morning, and we had just sat around, occasionally foraging for food or checking our traps. We had lost the interest of the audience, and the Gamemakers would make us pay for that.

The air whipped through the forest like a knife, settling into my chilled bones. I took a quick glance back and saw the foliage of the forest quickly freezing, icicles forming on branches and flowers wilting from frost.

I kept running, hoping to find a way to escape from the cold front. We had done nothing wrong to the Gamemakers, meaning that someway, somehow, there should be a way to escape it.

We kept running, the cold chasing after us. Just then, a chilling howl ran through the air, and Olive screamed, tripping over a branch and falling to the ground. I stopped, grabbing her hand and pulling her back up. We started to run again, but the cold had caught up. It was just behind our heels, catching up to us by the second.

 _If we stayed in that area too long…_

I looked behind again and gasped. There were two, no, three huge, white bears lumbering after us, one opening its mouth to reveal a mouth full of sharp, sharp teeth. I ran faster and faster, my axe swinging through the air.

Swish, swish. Swish, swish. Swish, swish.

I suddenly stopped, grabbing Olive by the collar and freezing in my tracks.. We had made it to the river.

We both gazed at the river, the cold catching up to us, freezing me to the bone. I didn't care anymore about the cold, however. I cared about the bloodthirsty white bears that were coming after us, snarling with their mouths full of white, gleaming, sharp teeth.

Olive looked over at me, her lip quivering slightly as she tried to keep a brave face. "What should we do?"

"Run on the side of the river until we can find a way across," I said, starting to run.

"And if we can't?" Olive asked, following after me. I left it unanswered as we ran. Both of us knew exactly what would happen if we couldn't find a way across.

 _Our cannons could boom into the sky any second now…_

We kept running, looking for a way across. I couldn't see any. The arena got colder and colder as we ran, looking for some way across. The temperature was freezing, and the arena outfits we were given were no match for the wind. It was so cold, the river was starting to freeze over.

 _Wait, the river's freezing over…_

"Olive!" I screamed, pointing at the forming ice on the river. "We have to get across!"

Olive looked at the river, gazing at the ice. Then, she turned to me, nodding firmly. We would get across the river by running across the ice, no matter what would happen.

I stepped gingerly onto the ice. It creaked slightly but held my weight. As soon as I felt it support my legs, I stepped on fully, and Olive joined me, walking slowly across the bears walked towards us, growling as they approached the ice. I tried not to pay attention to them, instead feeling out the ice in front of us with my axe, hoping that it would hold.

We kept walking, the other side of the river growing closer by the minute. Just as I stepped forward again, just six feet from the side of the river, a cannon rang through the arena, startling me. I stumbled forward, and the bears took that opportunity to charge onto the ice.

The ice immediately started to crack, hairline faults appearing all of the surface. Olive and I sprinted towards the riverbank, just six steps away from our reach. Just as the ice fell through, Olive and I leapt, landing square on the riverbank. I turned to see the bears fall in, their bodies dissolving into gunk.

I sat down, huffing as I shivered against the cold. We might have lost our campsite, but we were alive, and still in the Games. And at the end of the day, that was all you could really ask for.

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I ran across the ice, careful of any weak spots in the ice to collapse as I scurried across. The moon shone down onto the arena, finding my silhouette and showing it to all of the world. I ran into the thick forest on the other side, pausing for a moment. The arena had turned to ice in the past hour, and the forest had frozen into a frosty wonder, leaves crystallized in ice, and beautiful icicles hanging off of the trees.

I shivered slightly, hugging my newly given sponsored jacket to my body. Clay had sent it just a couple of minutes ago, with a note telling me to cross the ice. I had just done so, and now was panting for breath in the only feasible part of the arena to survive in, with all of the bears at the other end. I peered into the dark, looking to see if I could see the top of the mountain in the moonlight. I looked up into the sky, and caught a glimpse of the golden cornucopia, gleaming in the moonlight as it seemed to watch all of the remaining players in the Games.

I looked up at the sky, hearing the Capitol Anthem as I did so. I watched as it ended, and the two faces lit up the sky, seeming to stare sternly at all of us. I watched as the boy from five, the one I had killed in my nightmare, looked down on me. I shivered slightly, knowing that it very well could have been me watching him from the sky. Then, the face next shown was one I didn't know, but her number indicated that it was the girl from Eleven. I bowed my head in respect, waiting for the anthem to play once more, signifying the end. I didn't know her, but she was still a person, and every person deserved to be mourned for. When the anthem finished for the second time, I stopped and set my sights on the cornucopia. I would meet up with the careers at dawn.

 **Hello! It's me again, and I've got the next chapter out! What do you think of the arena event! What will happen when Caleb finds the careers? Let me know in a review!**

 **Eulogies (I forgot the boy from five last time, so he goes in here instead.)**

 **9th: Jaxon Henry, District 5 Male, killed by Caleb**

 **8th: Kaylee Faylor, District 11 Female, killed by a Polar Bear mutt**

 **We're in the final 7! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	18. Day 3: Vengeance Ain't Mine

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

The mountain was barely visible in the early light of the dawn.

I had slept in the forest last night, waking up spontaneously every couple of minutes, investigating any sound that had woken me up. The other side of the forest had been wonderful to hide in, but here, I just felt exposed. I was trapped on this side with the other six tributes, and if one of them stumbled onto me, they wouldn't hesitate to spill my blood. As a result, I was still yawning, only moving forward on adrenaline.

I carried my sword in hand, holding onto it with a firm grip. It had saved my life over the past few days, and hopefully, when I met up with the careers, it could save my life even more. It had ended the lives of two tributes: the girl from Ten and the boys from Eight and Five had both been killed by its blade.

 _How many more tributes will have blood fall onto my blade?_

I climbed up the mountain, the dawn starting to break as the early morning light shone down on the arena. I watched as frost started to melt away, the temperature of the arena rising from the below zero temperatures it had hovered up to the night when the deep freeze came.

Slowly but surely, I approached the cornucopia, the hustle and bustle of the Careers starting to become apparent. I approached cautiously, my sword drawn and my arms up in surrender. Even though Carolyn had yelled at me to come back this morning, you could never be too sure on your survival in the arena.

I finally approached the summit of the mountain, able to see Gloria ogling Valour from afar. He had no idea, but he was already being appraised by her.

I snickered, unable to hold it back. I had been with Valour for our entire time in the training centre, and he had been focusing on Carolyn's body ever since he had seen her on the first day. She had noticed, but made fun out of it, angling her body in just the right ways to make Valour's face turn red during the times they watched Gloria or I sparring or practising with weapons.

Gloria looked up when she heard the snicker, and she yelled at the others, letting them know of my arrival. "Carolyn! Your District Partner's here!"

Carolyn emerged from the cornucopia, wrapped in a thick sweater and earmuffs. Her face remained serious as she came out, nodding brusquely to me. I smiled slightly, walking towards the cornucopia.

"So, the prodigal son has returned," Valour drawled, staring at me lazily. Carolyn frowned slightly, watching me as I put my sword down.

"Yes, I suppose he has. Caleb, I guess you made it on time. You want some food?"

I fidgeted slightly, looking down at the ground as I struggled to force words out of my mouth. Finally, I found my voice and spoke. "Actually, I've come to tell you guys that… I'm out. I don't want to be in the careers anymore."

Valour choked on the water he was drinking, spraying it over some supplies next to the golden metal of the cornucopia. He turned and stared at me. "You're leaving us? Why did you even come in the first place?"

"To let you know. I prefer to play these Games honourably, if you could understand that," I spat at him, annoyed with the way he had reacted.

"Don't act like you're any better than us," snapped Carolyn, fingering a spear. "You know that you have killed just as much as us, if not more. I know you've got at least two kills."

She laughed suddenly, seeming to find amusement in her words. "And, you know, it will all be for nothing. You see, I'm about to end your pathetic, little moral sel-"

She suddenly threw a throwing knife in her hand, hoping to catch me off guard. As luck would have it, I had been starting to turn to run, and it flew past my face, leaving a small gash on the side of my right cheek. I yelled and turned around, drawing my sword as I ran straight at Carolyn.

Carolyn was surprised by me, stepping back slightly as I came towards her. She grabbed a spear, holding it at me as I came rushing towards her.

Then, I ducked under the spear, grabbing a pack and sprinting out of the Cornucopia. I rushed down the mountain, skidding as I ran. Then, I crashed, colliding with someone else entirely.

Konnor, the boy from Twelve, stared at me as I stumbled back up to my feet. We looked into each other's eyes and nodded. Konnor took a spear from his side, launching it at the careers.

The spear sailed through the air, heading straight towards Carolyn. Time seemed to halt as it spiralled towards her, Carolyn unsuspecting of what was happening until it was too late.

A body crumpled down, it's chest pierced by the spear. Valour had jumped in the way just in time.

Gloria screamed in shock, running towards Valour. She bent down, kissing him passionately on the lips.

 _And Valour must be hyperventilating in his death right now…_

Valour's cannon boomed, and Gloria got up, staring in anger at Konnor. We both realized it was time to leave, sprinting down the mountain as the two girls chased after us.

I ran harder than I ever had before, a knife, then a spear thudding into the ground behind me as I ran. As soon as I got to the bottom, I ducked into the forest, running through it to try to find a good hiding spot.

The cool air didn't affect me as I ran, looking for a safe place. Finally, I spotted an overturned tree and hid under the fallen trunk, the blood rushing through my veins. I paused for a moment to check myself over, making sure that I wasn't hurt.

I felt the freezing blood on my cheek, touching it to make sure it wasn't infected. Then, I looked at my legs.

I started to feel woozy as I stared at the knife in my thigh, blood staining the pant leg as the metal hung in. The world felt dizzy, and things grew dark as I stared in disbelief. Then, I fainted.

 **Hello! I've got this part of the story finished, and we have killed off another career! What did you think of Valour's death? Will it be in vain? Next up, we're checking in on our lovely ladies, who are feeling the pressure right now on Night 3. Here is your eulogy!**

 **7th: Valour Mathis, District One Male, speared in the heart by Konnor Smithers.**

 **Valour was never much of a big character, just one to fill the careers out. I was originally going to have him die in a duel with Caleb, losing because of his arrogant strategy, but then I thought of Konnor's grudge with Carolyn. So, because I made him helplessly in love, (and Gloria helplessly crying right now) he saved our main antagonist's life.**

 **Were you guys happy to see Konnor again? He almost got revenge!**

 **Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	19. Night 3: The Cold of Death

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

My stomach growled lightly as I watched the falling dusk with a cold, detached gaze. It was growing cold once more in the forest, and the arena outfits didn't do much to shield us from the cold. Caitlin was huddled right next to me, shivering slightly as the wind howled through the trees.

After we had made it across the river, the weather had started to let up a bit, but the snow still remained, only melting gradually as the day wore on. It managed to get into our jackets, our boots, and now it was giving Caitlin a horrible cold. She had started to get it in the afternoon, and it had only grown worse as night approached. I had to carry the brunt of our supplies and build a small shelter to sleep in, and Caitlin could only manage to stumble along and try to stay awake. It wasn't helping that there was only one cannon today, making the impossibly long day feel even longer.

I glanced up at the sky, hoping against hope that somehow, someway, we would be able to get a sponsor gift. The last item we had received was the blankets we were crouching in, and with them came a note from Maddie that said she had used up all of District Seven and Twelve sponsor money. We were now officially on our own, and I wasn't sure if this would be enough to keep us alive.

Caitlin started to cough, wet and terrible ones that ripped through her whole body. I moved in discomfort, before settling back down onto the ground. I'd probably be catching that cold in a day or two.

As we huddled together, the notes of the Capitol anthem started to play throughout the arena, and I looked up at the sky again in curiosity. We had both heard the cannon at the start of the day and had no idea of who would have their face put into the sky tonight. Caitlin stirred slightly next to me at the sound of the anthem, but ultimately closed her eyes and ignored it. She had been drifting through the day with a fever, clinging to her life for a while.

 _She could easily have her face in the sky tomorrow night…_

I looked up at the sky and stared at the face of the boy from One. He had been with the careers at the river, so he should have died in battle with another tribute. The only other thing that could have possibly happened is that the careers had finally split up, and it was a bit too early in the Games for that to still happen. I looked over at Caitlin and grinned slightly. "Only a handful left. One of us could come out of the arena!"

Caitlin grinned weakly at me, nodding her head in agreement. Then, another series of coughs wracked her body, and she started to dry heave onto the ground. I turned on my side, staring at the melting forest. Even if the temperature was still going down once again, the snow was starting to turn back into the water, and that could only mean good for us.

The trees next to us started to sway a bit, moving the fort we were in from side to side. It creaked a bit, before thankfully settling back down, with only a couple of branches falling off. I got out of the fort, and stuck the branches back on, sticking some snow onto them for good measure. We didn't need the little shelter we had blown away.

I tried to slumber, but the forest was so uncomfortable, too uncomfortable to sleep right now. It was hard enough for me to sleep in the arena in the first place, but after this weather, it felt near impossible to doze off. The game makers must have wanted us to stay up because it sure felt like I had insomnia.

The forest started to darken into the cold black of night, bringing with it more wind to freeze us to our bones. I gathered up the blankets around and tried to doze, but it wouldn't work. I wasn't able to go to sleep. The wind started to pick up, breaking several branches on the trees around us. I put my hands over my head in protection as they sailed by, smashing directly into a tree in front of us and shattering into dozens of frozen pieces.

I got up and looked at the forest. The snow still seemed to be melting somewhat, but it just kept getting windier and windier.

 _Don't the game makers know when to stop?_

I got out of our shelter, packing some snow back onto open holes in our shelter. I had done this plenty of times with my brothers when I was still in District 12, and we had had so much fun making forts to hide in near the forests. The boys never let me go past the fence, but they usually snuck over it, coming back with raspberries, blueberries and, if they were lucky, strawberries. Our family feasted on berry salads on those days.

I waved up at the top of the trees, knowing that my family probably would be watching us right now. I winked at wherever I thought cameras might be, gesturing in sarcastic pride at the fort I had built. If my family wasn't sobbing right now, they'd likely be cracking up at it. It was a monster of a fort, sticks being blown away by the minute. Snow plugged up any holes in it where leaves would usually be stuffed and, overall, it looked like a three-year-old built it.

Just then, I heard a beeping sound and looked up into the sky. A parachute was falling down, down to where we were coming, and as I watched it fall, it settled on the ground directly in front of me. I opened it up, to find two bottles of water! I screamed in joy, taking a short, yet sweet sip out of one before reading the note on it.

 _Keep hydrated. The end of the Games is closer than you think. ~ A fan_

I crawled back into the fort and lay down next to Caitlin. She fidgeted a bit, trying to find a comfortable spot before dozing back off. I closed my eyes, a sudden weight pressing down on them. It was starting to feel… so… warm and cozy here…

 **Caitlin Wagner, 17, District 7**

I woke up with a start, the wind howling through the top of the trees like a wild banshee. It never got this stormy in District Seven, and my throat was starting to pay that price. I had spent most of the night coughing, just trying to get whatever that was hurting my throat out. It didn't work, of course, and it didn't help that we had received nothing from Maddie or Joe. Joe would be able to send sponsor money to us from what Percy had managed to get, but the two had likely used it all up with the blankets.

My throat started to dry up, the moisture seeping away to other parts. I hadn't drunk since this morning when we still had water in our canteens, and we had no more water. Or did we?

I looked over at Olive, peacefully slumbering next to me, with all of her supplies right at her feet. She would never hide anything from me. We were allies! She was too nice to do such a thing.

Just in case, I sat up and reached over for the supplies. Even if Olive was my ally, it could never hurt to check if there was any water left.

I grabbed the nearest bags and brought them over to my side. Just as I was about to open them, I started coughing again, even worse than the last times. Olive peered blearily at me, and I hid the packs behind my back. She looked up, smiled a little, and then went back to sleep. I smiled back, before pulling the packs out to view. Slowly, I opened the first pack, looking to see if there were any supplies.

Nothing.

I zipped it back up, tossing it back to where it had laid at Olive's feet. I opened the next bag, peering inside the extra compartment. The only thing left in that one was some spare rope from our traps.

As I looked at the last bag, I started to be overcome by a feeling of guilt. What right did I have to assume that Olive was hiding supplies from me? Ever since we had allied, she had been nothing but helpful, working on our camp, listening to me when we escaped the bears, and setting up camp today alone because of my cold. She would never hide supplies from me.

But, almost as an afterthought, I slowly opened the last bag. I looked inside and saw the empty canteens that we had finished the water from this morning. I laughed in relief and threw back the bag to Olive's side.

The swish of water was easily heard by my ears.

I frowned and grabbed the bag. I opened one of the canteens and, sure enough, there was water inside. Why? Why would Olive hide supplies from me? How did she manage to get it? Most importantly, did she not trust me enough to tell me about it? Or was she going to leave…

I clenched my fist in anger, grabbing my axe with my other hand. I fingered the handle, running my finger along the blade. I looked over at Olive, giving her a long, hard stare. She had hidden supplies from me, and now she would have to pay the price.

I crawled out of the fort, throwing my axe at a tree. It hit it in the center, quivering slightly as it stuck in the wood. I wrenched it out of the trunk, turning back to Olive. She was still sleeping, an innocent look on her face. I had to hand it to her, she was a good actor, even in her sleep. But if you stole from me, you would regret it for a while.

When I was in District Seven, some kids liked to try to steal things from my house while I was working. They were likely just orphans, or perhaps from a poor family, just looking for an extra mouthful of food. But when I came home one day and found my dinner, a piece of bread and a leg of chicken gone, I didn't think of who the kids were. Instead, I set up mouse traps around the house, putting them on top of the door, around the food, and adding steak knives around them for good measure, I came home only to find my untouched dinner, and in rare cases, smears of blood where I had put my traps.

I walked back towards the fort, removing one of the branches leaning against the tree that Olive had set up. I swung my axe again, sending some branches flying off of the fort. Olive was now in the range of my axe.

I prepared to swing, my conscience ignored. I would not be able to survive the Hunger Games if Olive was still around, so I had to get rid of her, no matter the cost. I raised the axe over my head, ready to send it into Olive. I laughed slightly as I remembered the last time I was in this situation. I should have just ended her when I caught her. That would have saved us both a world of pain, but I had let her stay, and in repayment, she had stolen from me. Stolen!

I swung, the axe heading towards Olive. I watched travel, further, further…

"Caitlin!"

I stumbled, the axe thudding into the ground beside Olive. Was that my sister's voice?

"Caitlin!"

I turned around to see a jabberjay calling out my name, chirping in delight as it saw me. Tears started to stream down my face, falling onto the axe. I couldn't kill Olive, she was the closest thing to my sister. And even if she had stolen, I would have likely done the same. I didn't deserve her as an ally.

I turned around, holding my axe as I ran, away from Olive, away from my ally. I had to get away, to keep her out of danger. If I stayed with her, I could end up killing her. And that, I couldn't afford.

"Caitlin! Where are you going? Wait up!" I glanced over my shoulder, Olive sprinting after me. I kept running, away from Olive. I was a liability to her, so I couldn't stay with her. Couldn't she just realize that?

I sprinted harder, faster, before stumbling into something. I fell to the ground, to look up into the surprised face of the girl from One. She grinned, looking over my shoulder to see Olive in the distance. I screamed, louder than the laughter of the girl. "Olive! Run! Don't come back! I'll hold her off, you get the supplies and go! Don't come back!"

The girl looked down at me scornfully, surprised to see that I would sacrifice myself for an ally. She laughed again, swinging her sword down towards my face. She looked surprised when she looked down at her chest, my axe buried in her heart. She fell over, her cannon booming before she hit the snow. I looked down at the sword buried in my stomach and then launched myself at the girl from two behind her.

 _I want to take one more down before I die._

I buried my axe into her arm, and she screamed in pain. She launched a spear into my neck, and my vision grew blurry. It was getting warmer though.

 _At least… Callie… no, Olive… Will escape. Is that you, Callie? It's been so long… I'm sorry._

 _Boom!_

 **Hey, all! I actually ended another main character's life! (Me trying not to sniffle right now lol) What did you guys think of this chapter? I wasn't going to kill Caitlin originally, just separate her from Olive, but as I wrote on, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Now for the obituaries!**

 **6th: Gloria Gagnon, District One Female**

 **5th: Caitlin Wagner, District Seven Female**

 **Caitlin was my second favourite tribute to write, with her spunky spirit and her strong skills. She was easily a contender for the top three until around now, when this chapter came up. If you felt weird about her POV this chapter, it was because she was a bit delirious from her sickness. Fever does strange things to people, and it caught Caitlin fully, who ended up dying because she was asleep during the receiving of the water. She was a great character, however, and will likely be referenced sometime. Until then, top five was a good place for her!**

 **What did you guys think about this chapter? Up next, we'll see Caleb dealing with his injury, and Olive coping with the loss of her ally and, more importantly, friend. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	20. Day 5: Pain Doesn't Lie

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

 _Why is it so dark?_

I opened my eyes blearily, staring into what should have been a new dawn of the arena. I knew that it was morning, my every sense screaming that it was around dawn, but the sun refused to rise out of the darkness hanging over the forest.

 _The game makers must be preparing for the finale…_

I had no idea of how many people were left. The last thing I remembered from yesterday was running down the mountain with Konnor ahead of me, Valour dead from Konnor's spear, and Gloria and Carolyn enraged by my decision to leave the careers. I had run from them, and Carolyn or Gloria had launched a knife directly into my back leg.

 _My leg!_

I looked down at my left leg to see an angry red streak traveling up it from the spot where the knife had entered, with dirt and snow smeared all over the ripped pants I wore. I ripped off the lower part of the pant leg, to reveal the full extent of the red streak. My leg was fully infected, with the infection spreading to all parts.

 _I must have been asleep for a couple of days…_

I looked up at the sky again, hoping that I could see something, anything, to tell me what time it was in the game. I was essentially going into the finale, or at least the last part of the game, blind, and I needed to know who I was going up against.

 _OK, I know that when I fell unconscious, Carolyn and Gloria were hunting for me, so they are probably still out there, frustrated that I haven't popped up yet. Then there's Konnor, he was on the mountain. He's probably still alive, he's smart. Who am I missing? Oh, there's that girl from Seven, Caitlin! Carolyn didn't like how high she scored. She was supposed to die in the bloodbath, but I guess she weaseled her way out of death. Is there anyone else? No, I don't think so. Wait! There's the district partner of Konnor, the little one. I haven't really seen her the whole time in the arena, but I haven't seen her face in the sky. What was her name again?_

I rubbed my eyes, wincing at the pain throbbing through my leg. It was starting to rear its ugly head at me, and my body wasn't handling it well. It had to be badly infected for it to be like that. I needed something to stop the infection on my leg, anything from the Capitol, if I was going to leave the arena with my leg, and my life, in one piece.

I looked up at the sky and waved in desperation. At first, nothing came, and I looked down, frustrated at what was happening. I needed something, badly, and I needed it now.

I tried to stand up, grabbing a small tree to help me. Pain shot up through my leg again, but I somehow managed to stay on my feet. I started to wave my arms again, keeping one down so that I was able to stay upright. "I need something for my leg! Please… "

Suddenly, the shrill beeping of a parachute cut through the air, and I looked up in surprise and in hopefulness. The faint image of a parachute came down through the top of the forest and landed about twenty feet away from me.

I swore a little. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to the parachute with my bad leg, but the parachute meant everything to me. I needed it to survive.

I took a step forward, pain rushing through every part of my body. I kept going. I needed that bag. I needed it. I had to survive this infection.

I took another step forward, my body unsure if it could manage to take the weight of itself. I took another one forward before face-planting into the ground. I groaned and grabbed a branch in front of me to crawl forward. Using branches and bushes, I pulled myself to the parachute. I was going to do it. I was going to survive.

I finally reached the parachute and opened it with glee. The inside of it was filled with a vial of some reddish goop, floating around in the glass vial. Directly on the vial was a note, and I snatched it quickly to see what it said.

 _Hey, Caleb! Congrats on making the final four on day five! This just maxed out our sponsor money, so Natalia is pretty mad, but she got some weapons for Carolyn, so you two are even. Just a tip, you've got to put the medicine in without the knife in the wound in order for it to work. ~ Clay_

I threw my hands up in the air, rejoicing in the fact that I was still in the game. I had survived three days unconscious! Woah, I had survived three days unconscious! Was that some kind of record? I didn't know, but I wasn't going to try to find out and fall unconscious again.

I looked down at the knife embedded in my leg, scrunching my nose in the horror of the pain it would take to get it out. The girl who had thrown it had thrown it hard, and it was deep into my leg, likely messing up the inner muscles of it. It needed to be removed badly, and I had to do it now, or else I could be the reason the others made the final three.

I put a hand on the hilt of the knife, ready to pull it out of my skin. The skin around it stung as I did so, but I clenched my teeth and pulled hard, harder than I ever thought was possible. An involuntary scream passed my lips as I fell down, the knife crusted with fresh and old blood from the wound as it was pulled out. I sagged my head in relief and grabbed the knife, throwing it away from me. I didn't want to see that horrible thing again.

I took the vial of goop and poured it onto the wound, grinning in relief. I had managed to get the stuff on, even though the shooting pain of pulling out the knife was horrible, and I was finally ready to get up and go.

I stood up and grabbed my sword, hobbling away from the spot where I had fallen. It was finally time to leave that wretched place.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**.

I peered through the foliage, looking at the tribute who was passing by my hiding spot. I had gotten into this bush and hidden in it for most of the past three days, only leaving to relieve myself or stretch. So far, no one had passed by, but this person was getting too close for comfort.

I clutched the axe I held in my hand, holding it close for comfort. It was the one that Caitlin had left behind when she had run off… and died fighting the girl from District Two, Carolyn. She had left me behind that and the other supplies, and I was left without my closest friend and ally in the arena.

An involuntary tear ran down my cheek, trickling down to my chin and falling onto a leaf below. I wiped away the mark fiercely and waited for the tribute to go in another direction, hoping against hope that I wouldn't rustle the bushes too suddenly. The tribute passed by, limping badly as they did so.

I looked at the tribute, trying to figure out who the person was. It was the boy from two, Caleb, the one who had managed to get across the log when it cracked and the boy from four died in the water. I hadn't seen him at any other time in these Games, so he must have been hiding for the past few days. By the look of him, he was pretty beat up: an easy kill

I took a cautious step out of the bush, creeping closer towards the tired boy. He didn't seem to notice, and I walked closer, brandishing my axe in my hand as I raised it up into the air. I crept closer, closer, closer, and then sprung, yelling as I threw the axe directly at his back.

My yell alerted him and he dove out of the way, grabbing his sword instinctively and pointing it towards me as he did so. I ran for my axe, grabbing it out of the ground where it had crashed into, and stepped back defensively from Caleb. He groaned in pain, his leg quivering slightly, but he remained steady, ready to fight.

The roar of an animal rang through the forest, startling both I and Caleb. We stared into the forest, where the cannon of another tribute rang. I looked up into the sky, and saw the face of Konnor stare directly at me. I screamed and looked at Caleb, whose face had gone white with horror. I whipped around to see a huge, animalistic beast, lumbering towards us. It roared, and three others appeared directly behind it.

 _We have to run._

 **Hey, guys! It's me again, and I've finally updated! Oooh, final three! We are so close to the finale, it hurts! Hopefully, you guys will love it!**

 **Here is our obituary, as Konnor had a place in our hearts that will never be filled. *fake sob***

 **4th: Konnor Smithers, District 12 Male, killed by lion-tiger-bear mutts.**

 **Poor Konnor, he drew the short end of the straw this time. He was a great escapee, and he had several chances to escape his death, including one where he made sure that the force field would be installed on the roof! I'll miss him, but it was his time to die.**

 **Hopefully I can update soon, so that I can finish this story! After the finale, we'll have the coronation and an epilogue, and then this story will be officially complete! Hooray! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	21. The Finale: And Then There Were None

**Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

 _No, no, this can't be the end already. It's just begun, the Games just started. How is it the finale already? How did 21 other tributes die so fast? How did Konnor, my district partner, die? Was it an honorable death? Did he die pleading for mercy?_

Questions that couldn't be answered kept bouncing around the inside of my head as I kept running, sprinting towards the last spot I would fight in the Hunger Games: the top of the mountain. The game makers always liked rounding up the last couple of tributes to the cornucopia for the final fight. I always thought that they did that because they found it funny that the horn of plenty was where the last of us tributes would find nothing but death.

I kept running, chasing after the boy with the sword, the boy from District 2, Caleb. He was breathing rather hard but keeping up a good pace. If the beasts were going to aim for only one of us, I'd be dead meat. Right now, I wouldn't be able to keep up with Caleb, even with his injured leg, if my life depended on it. The only chance I had was using the terrain against them.

I dodged through some of the bushes that covered the vast forest I was running through, looking back in satisfaction as one of the creatures slammed head-first into a massive oak, reeling back as the force of the impact stunned it. I kept weaving through the trees, making sure that I never ran the same pattern twice. In this game, monotony was death.

I kept running, starting to catch up with a faltering Caleb. I looked at his face, and the only thing on it was pain. I nodded at him, and sped up, equaling his speed. I wasn't going to die today.

The wind started to pick up, starting to shake the trees around us. Soon enough, branches were flying through the air, smacking both of us on our arms, our legs, and our faces. The mutts behind us didn't seem to mind the branches much, batting them out of the way as they charged at us. They were starting to catch up.

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I stumbled over yet another stone, running in vain to make sure that I could be the first one of us to make it to the top of the mountain. Nothing mattered more at the moment than escaping the mutts that were running behind us, ravaging throughout the forest, ready to taste our blood.

I saw the end of the forest in the front of my vision, the sides of the mountain hidden by the darkness of the arena. It was clear to the girl and me; it was the end game, the last hurrah, our last chance to survive. We had to run, run faster than we ever had before, or our story would be over.

 _I don't want to die today…_

I tripped over a rock and sprawled to the ground, my face crashing into the ground. I somehow found my way back up to my feet, running again. The girl from twelve looked back in a look of slight concern, but she ultimately kept running. At this point, she realized that there was no room for kindness. It was do or die now, and if she helped me, it would mean death for her.

I understood her decision. I hadn't helped her at all in the Games, so she had no reason to help me. But, I knew I had to catch back up to her if I was going to manage to escape the beasts chasing after us.

I reached the side of the mountain, scrambling after the girl. She kept running but quickly started to weave through the rocks, kicking a couple of the smaller ones back down the mountain. I jumped over one of the bigger falling rocks, and sprinted after her, my leg screaming pain. It was too soon, too hard for it to be running, but I needed it to run, and running it was.

The cornucopia came into view, the golden metal gleaming in the moonlight. I kept running. I needed to be saved by that horn of plenty, or I would find death on the mountainside.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I kept kicking back the rocks down the mountainside, trying to slow down whatever what was behind me. I didn't care if I was hitting Caleb or the creatures. As long as I could slow something, anything down, the rocks were helping me survive another minute in the arena. And I wanted as many minutes as I could get.

I looked up at the cornucopia, my breathing starting to come out in short, quick breaths. It was growing painful to run for my lungs, but I had to keep going. It was my only chance of surviving the Games. If I couldn't get up to the top of the cornucopia, safe from the mutts chasing me, I would be dead.

 _Were my parents watching right now? They probably would be in the town square, my Mother crying as my Father consoled her, promising her that I would come back to them. I would be the newest cause of my Mother's worries if I didn't come back home. Would she be able to handle my death?_

A sudden scream of pain cut through the air, causing me to look back at Caleb in surprise. It wasn't him.

Another scream cut through the air, decidedly feminine this time around. It was coming from the top of the mountain, so I looked up to see Carolyn batting her sword at a cloud of bloodthirsty birds, dive bombing her in an attempt to cut her flesh. Carolyn tried to cover her face as they came in, and slashed at any bird which came close.

One of the birds suddenly came towards me, screeching in anger as it attempted to knock me off balance. I screamed as it cut my cheek with its razor-sharp beak, swooping around to hit me again.

This time around, I dodged the bird and, as it flew by me, I cut it in half with my axe. The pieces of the bird fell to the ground as it croaked its last breath, and I kept running, stomping on one of the quivering pieces. I had no time to mourn for a little bird.

Suddenly, the ground started to flatten out, and I looked down in surprise. I had reached the summit of the mountain, the place where it had all began. I had made it to the cornucopia.

The forest looked tiny when I looked at it from the summit, and I suddenly became aware of the pressure in my lungs. My body just couldn't run anymore. It had to quit, and I felt myself gasp for air. I tried to suck in large amounts of air, greedily taking in mouthfuls of it. I had never tasted anything sweeter.

The frantic footsteps of Caleb running after me caused me to turn around to see him stumble his way up to the summit, his right leg bleeding from where he had fallen. He had a gaze of pain in his eyes, and I saw the hand which he was carrying his sword with tremble. He was completely gassed.

Carolyn let out a screech of triumph, grinning in delight as she skewered the last of the bird mutts. She shook it off of her sword, and it fell to the ground, it's delicate beak cracking against one of the stones that littered the summit. We were all here at the summit, and we were ready to fight for the victory. The finale had truly begun.

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I watched Carolyn carefully, holding up my sword in a defensive move. The girl from twelve realized that the fight right now was between me and Carolyn, and the girl scrambled into the cornucopia, trying to find a place to hide from the massive mutts.

As Carolyn spit out a glob of blood from her mouth, holding her sword and picking up a bloodied knife from the ground, I made a break for the cornucopia, scrambling up the side to try to get on top of the metal structure. It was the only chance I had of surviving her wrath.

Carolyn sprinted after me, vaulting onto one of the footholds on it. After that, it was a silent race between us two, both trying to be the first to make it to the top. I grabbed handholds after handholds, trying not to slide down to the bottom of the cornucopia. I needed to make it to the top.

With a burst of strength, I slammed my sword into the side of the cornucopia. It partially stuck into the soft metal, and I hoisted myself up, wrenching it out of the side and pulling myself up to the top.

As I reached the top, I allowed myself a few breaths to calm down. This is what the Games had come down to. It was me versus Carolyn, and I needed to defeat her. I walked over to one side of the top and readied myself. It was going to be a tough battle.

Rain started to fall out of the sky, slightly at first, before blossoming into a full-fledged storm. It pelted down on me, and I spat it out of my mouth as Carolyn hoisted herself up onto the top.

As I looked at the demented expression on her face, I was reminded of the ritual of ashes every tribute and victor went through in District 2. If one of us took home the victory, we would be anointed with ashes from our first Victor's Games, Clay's Coliseum, to symbolize our new life as a victor. We would be born again, free of the stigmas that we thrust upon ourselves in the arena. As Carolyn stood up, I realized that I wanted to be anointed with the ashes. I wanted to wash myself of the arena, to free myself from my actions in here. If I survived, I wanted to become a better person.

Carolyn spat out another glob of blood. It fell onto the golden metal of the cornucopia, quickly being washed away by the torrent of rain falling down onto the arena. She looked up at me, watching my face, and snarled. "Well, well well, if it isn't the _traitor_ who weaseled his way into the final three. You're no more worthy of the victory than the little girl down there, the one who's probably being mauled by those bear-things. I'll enjoy your death, scum of the earth, weak little Caleb."

I glared back, suddenly charging at Carolyn with my sword. Carolyn fended my attack off easily, holding her sword up in defense to bounce me back. She laughed. "You think that this will be that easy? We aren't playing games anymore, Caleb. It's your time to die."

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I walked slowly into the cornucopia, watching the snarling mutts that were approaching me, eager for my death. They had finally made it up to the summit of the mountain and had found me in the cornucopia. They were out for blood. I could see it in the leader's face, an expression that I only saw when my brothers showed me rabid animals in their traps. They had nothing on their minds but the feeling of destruction, and that was when my brothers killed the creatures and burned them. When animals acted like that, they were good for nothing but death.

I took a couple of steps back, trying to judge which one of the animals I had to kill. I only had one axe, which meant I only could kill one of the mutts. And which one I killed would make all of the difference between death and survival.

I laughed, thinking of one of the Capitol game shows I had watched while I was sick with the flu last year. The contestant had to choose between choosing a room which seemed to have more amounts of expensive goods or one with only a few items inside. I had found it boring and turned it off to watch a soap opera. The antics of the two lovers were much more entertaining than watching a person pick between two rooms to win.

I held up my axe slowly, watching the eyes of both of the animals. The leader seemed to be the most dangerous, but the other one still looked vicious enough to tear me apart. I needed to make a decision of which one to kill. And if I chose wrong, my cannon would ring out next, leaving me to come back home in a coffin with Konnor.

 _If my brothers were here, they would want to attack the alpha, the larger one. They would say that if they killed it, they would erase the larger threat. I wish I had their guidance now. I need to know which is the right thing to do._

I raised my axe, my mind suddenly ready to choose. I knew which one I had to kill to survive. I held my axe, tilted it back, and suddenly threw it through the air, watching it spiral at the animals. It flew through the air, spiraling straight into the neck of the… smaller mutt.

The mutt roared in pain and fell to the ground, it's paws flailing wildly as it tried to get back up. The leader looked down at it in confusion, wanting to help it, but unsure of what happened. I sprinted past the two and launched myself at the side of the cornucopia, clawing my way up to the top. I had outsmarted the mutts.

I reached the top of the cornucopia and hauled myself up, staying clear of the fight going on between Carolyn and Caleb. They were both fighting hard and had no idea I was here.

 _Yes! Oh, wait, I don't have a weapon anymore. That could be a problem…_

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I swung my sword at Carolyn, dodging her attack quickly. We were fighting like we were fighting for a spot as the designated volunteer. I smiled slightly, thinking of those times. The bodysuits we had to wear in the rings when we fought were so hated by us, but they could really come in handy with what we were doing right now. Our training was nothing compared to what this fight boiled down to: a mere fight for survival.

Carolyn threw one of the knives that she had collected, grazing the side of my cheek. I gritted my teeth and launched another attack on her, hoping that my offensive strategy would defend myself.

Carolyn grinned dementedly as she danced across the metal, flying through the air with every one of her attacks. The instructors at the academy always said that she was the most graceful fighter that they had ever seen, and this fight was proving nothing less than that. I could only hope to fend her off and pray for the best because she was steadily outfighting me and my wounded leg.

"Are you feeling alright?" Carolyn taunted as she dodged my sword once again, jumping back up to her feet to throw another knife at my head. "I know that I'm going to win. It's the only possible outcome today. We can't have a traitor to the careers come back home as a victor, so you've got to die. You're just as ruthless of a killer as I am, so leaving the careers didn't even make sense for you! But, your conscience and that stupid log had you leave us, your _family_ in the arena. It's because of you Valour and Gloria died. Do you feel OK about your decision to go it on your own? I don't think so, you scum."

I scowled in rage at Carolyn, ducking her sword and thrusting mine at her chest. She leaped out of the way, and held her sword in a defensive position, ready to fight. "At least I knew what I was doing: killing innocent children. All you guys ever did was think that this was a game. You don't care about anything, and you never will. You'll be accepted as a victor by District 2, but only because you won. If you lost, you'll accomplish nothing. At least I killed my opponents with honor."

Carolyn's face flushed red with rage, and she attacked me with more force than any of her previous attacks. "You're wrong! You're the one who won't be accepted, you're the one who'll be forgotten. I won't be the one to be forgotten. Why do you think I volunteered?"

Lightning flashed through the sky, illuminating the emotions running through both of our faces. We were tired, angry, mad, and… unaware of the girl from twelve who was right behind Carolyn.

I gasped in shock, surprised that she had made it up to the top. How had she escaped the mutts? Whatever the case, she was still in the running for the spot of the victor.

Carolyn suddenly knocked me to the ground, pinning me down as she held a knife to my head. She grinned sadistically and waved it over my face. "What shall I cut off first, Caleb? Should I cut off your nose? No, someone from District 8 did that a couple of years ago. I know! I'll stab your eyes, so you won't see me killing you, but I'll keep your ears, so you can hear your screams as you die. Would you like that, Caleb?"

Carolyn waved it around once more as I gasped for breath, trying to squirm out from under her. I didn't want to die. I wasn't.

I closed my eyes as Carolyn brought the knife down. I didn't want to see myself become blind.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I ran at Carolyn, ready to stop her. She had no idea that I was here, on top of the cornucopia. Caleb had seen me coming, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he had been distracted by me, and Carolyn had knocked him over, ready to kill the boy and find herself in the final two.

As she swung the knife down, I tackled her, knocking her off of Caleb and onto the ground. I heard Caleb scream in pain as I fell to the ground, Carolyn falling next to me. I was too late to stop him from being stabbed.

Falling to the ground hurt more than anything I had experienced in my life. Sure enough, I had experienced some pretty painful things at home, but nothing compared to the feeling of the air rushing out of my lungs and the stones cutting into my body, stabbing me with their sharp edges.

I looked up weakly at Carolyn and gasped in shock. Her head was twisted at an unnatural angle, and her eyes stared off with a detached gaze towards the cornucopia. A cannon boomed through the relentless rain. Carolyn, the biggest threat of the Games, was dead. She died because of me.

I sat up and vomited on the ground, disgusted by what had just happened. Carolyn had been living and breathing just a minute before, but now she was gone. She was dead.

A sudden growl distracted me from Carolyn, causing me to stare up at the face of the larger mutt. It had remembered that I had also killed its pack mate.

I scrambled backwards on the ground of the summit, trying to escape the animal. It walked closer, and I moved further away, right into the golden metal of the cornucopia. I was trapped by the mutt.

The mutt growled and then launched it's sharp teeth at me, eager to tear apart my flesh. I screamed in pain as the animal ripped my shoulder blade, tearing the cartilage and sinking right into the bone. As it let go, I felt the wet blood drip down my shoulder, turning the mud on the rained-on ground to a reddish-brown colour.

The mutt came again, this time tearing at my face with its claws. I fell to the ground, my face completely ripped up by the sharp claws of the mutt. I was at the mercy of an animal with no conscience. I was going to die.

My vision started to blur as the mutt charged at me again, the fur around its neck stained with blood. My blood. I put my hands up in front of my head in a vain attempt to stop the animal from attacking. Maybe if I did that, it would leave me alone.

 _Or maybe I would die…_

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I peered with my good eye at the bottom of the cornucopia, trying to see what was happening. My mind was registering the screams, but I wasn't sure what was happening. The only thing that I knew for sure was that blood was dripping out of my ruined left eye, mixing in with the falling rain onto the cornucopia.

I focused in on the large bear-mutt that was walking towards something on the ground, something which was starting to stir again. I frowned, unsure of what it was. What would make a bear so mad that it would attack the thing?

I tried to see what was being approached, focusing in with my good eye on the thing when the bear-mutt attacked it, and a feminine scream erupted from the creature. I gasped in horror. It was the little girl from Twelve, the one who had attacked me in the forest, the one who had beaten me to the top of the mountain, the one who had saved me from Carolyn. Why was she being attacked? She had done nothing wrong.

I staggered to my feet, walking with a limp to the edge of the cornucopia. I peered down, and brandished my sword, looking downwards at the mutt and the girl. "No one… else… should die." I muttered, looking down at the creatures who were starting to blur together.

And I jumped.

 **Olive Blake, 14, District 12**

I screamed in terror as the mutt attacked again, tearing with its terrible jaws at my stomach. It hurt, it hurt bad, it wasn't going away. And I was going to die.

A cry of determination filled my ears, and I watched in wonder as the boy from two (what was his name again? Carter?) jump down from the top of the cornucopia, right onto the mutt. It roared in pain, and I tried to move away as blood gushed out from it. It was so tiring, feeling the blood from the mutt spray onto me. As I heard the boy's cries of pain fill the air, all I wanted to do was go to sleep.

As the boy bent over me, both of his eyes bleeding badly, I waved weakly, and then closed my eyes. I didn't know what was happening, but the ground was feeling… so... warm right now…

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2**

I watched as the little girl closed her eyes, her body close to death. I knew that she wouldn't make it. She had no hope.

 _Unless she was the last one of us left…_

My vision blurred together again, then seemed to vanish altogether as I stood up, walking to the edge of the mountain. I peered through the eye that the creature had clawed, feeling the pain of the wound. The mutt had clawed right into the deeper tissue of the eye.

I looked down at one of the cliffs, trying to figure out what I was doing. I needed to save that little girl. She needed to go back home, safe from the Games, to go back to her parents. I shouldn't be the victor.

So, I took one last breath, saluted the cameras, wherever they were, and jumped. I didn't care anymore. The air felt so nice when you fell through it…

I came to a sudden stop, the ground seeming to swallow me up whole. I couldn't feel a thing. I couldn't see anything. All I could hear was the whirring of a hovercraft and the boom of a cannon.

 _Who died?_

 **Hey guys! Who on Earth survived this finale? Was it Olive, the young girl from District 12 who managed to kill Carolyn, or Caleb, the volunteer from District 2 who had a change of heart and betrayed his fellow careers? Say who you think it was in the poll on my profile! Until next time, when we see our Victor, (YASSS!) TheAmazingJAJ**


	22. A Shattered Victory

**Anthonia Mallicent, 43, Head Game Maker**

I grinned as Konnor's cannon boomed through the air, the wondrous bear-mutts that we had created howling at their newest kill. I grabbed an intern running through the room and started barking at them. "I want the hovercraft to get him out in the next two minutes. Do you hear me? If not, I'll have you scrubbing the floors with the rest of the failed interns!"

The intern nodded and sprinted away, almost slipping on some of the spilled coffee on the floor. It had been a long night, with Carolyn hunting eagerly and Caleb flickering in and out of a critical phase, so most of the game makers were too tired to drink the cold, half-filled coffee cups that littered the control room.

I stared at the screens which showcased Caleb and Olive, sprinting for their lives from the bear-mutts. I walked over to the controls for the mutts and barked at the game makers to slow down the mutts slightly. It wouldn't do to have two of the final three tributes to die before they could fight. That would leave for a disappointing victor.

I turned to the weather control booth, tapping the man who was operating the windy breeze. He looked up at me in annoyance before quickly paling at the sight of me. "Wh-what can I do for you, Mr. Grisham sir?"

I smiled in triumph, pointing at the screen. "Give me rain. Lots of it. It's going to be a finale to remember."

 **Pollux Corinnius, 39, District 12 Mentor**

I watched in horror as Konnor's cannon boomed, looking at the personalized screen which had, until now, shown his every movement in the arena. It now went black, leaving only Olive's screen in my booth.

I cursed loud and long, enough to catch the attention of the District 2 Mentors. Konnor had been my best chance in years for the victory. He had been strong and fast, enough to catch the attention of sponsors, even though most of them balked at the idea of sponsoring a boy who had missed the interviews. I had gotten an ok amount of money, however, and had spent it on getting Konnor food. I hadn't paid much attention to Olive. She was too young to win, so I nodded happily at the sponsors who gave her money and gave it over to Maddie, telling her to use it on the alliance. The money had run out quickly, however, leaving me time to focus on Konnor's epic kill of Valour. It didn't matter that it had been Carolyn he was aiming for, it was a great kill, and sponsor money had been pouring in for the past few days. Up until now, Konnor had been a top pick for victor.

I swore again, adding in a couple particularly horrible oaths for the game makers. They hadn't taken kindly to Konnor's habit of escaping, so they had been biased to him the entire Games. Now, my only chance of escaping this wretched job was a 14-year-old girl who had a weapon which she barely knew how to use. It was going to be another disappointment for District 12.

 **Maddie Fey, District 7, 26, Victor of the 3rd Hunger Games**

I stared sadly at the bottle of wine in my hand, the wine begging for me to drink it whole and forget all of the stress of the past few days. Caitlin had been such a great tribute, with her high score, her interesting story, and her fierce nature having grabbed sponsors easily. She had been a shoe-in for the finale, yet she had squandered it with the cold and the deliria that followed. When she had been stabbed by Carolyn, I had sobbed openly. She had been the closest thing to a female victor for me in years, and she had died in such a waste. Caitlin deserved more than the 5th place finish that she had gotten. It was all part of my job, though, and sometimes I got easy years, and sometimes they were like this year. Joe had had an easy time this Games, with Percy being such a guaranteed bloodbath that Joe had just spent time trying to fill him up with good food. At least it had dried up some of the tears the boy had been frequently shedding. The floors of the District 7 floor would never be the same.

I popped the cork and chugged part of the wine down, watching the Games on the TV in our floor. The District 2 Girl was being shown at the moment, fighting strange birds which were pecking at her hair. I threw the bottle at the TV, smashing the glass of the bottle and cracking the screen. I didn't need another reminder of Caitlin's death.

 **Natalia Haines, District 2, 24, Victor of the 8th Hunger Games**

I screamed at the screen in excitement, clapping in happiness for Carolyn. She had just managed to get rid of the last of the birds, just in time to get ready to fight the other tributes. Carolyn had been having a great time in the arena, and now she was ready to take home the victory for District 2. I was finally going to have a good mentor interview.

It wasn't that I didn't like Caleb, I just was a competitive person. So, I had planted a bit of a bias against Caleb in my sponsor notes to Carolyn, up-playing the way he had deserted the careers, turning him into a vicious person to Carolyn. It had made her even more determined to win and now, victory was within her grasp. She was the perfect victor of the 14th Hunger Games.

Caleb and the girl from 12 staggered around the summit, letting Carolyn have time to grab one of the knives that she had thrown at the bird-mutts. She was taking her time, making sure that she was ready to fight the two. It wouldn't do for her to die because she was underprepared.

Caleb suddenly bolted to the cornucopia, realizing that he needed to get to the top first if he wanted to beat Carolyn. He was always a clever one, and Carolyn reacted instantly.

"Come on, girl," I muttered as she raced to the cornucopia after Caleb, holding a knife in one hand and a sword in the other. It was her fight to win.

 **Doug Tomlinson, District 6, 22, Victor of the 9th Hunger Games**

I opened my eyes slowly, trying to watch the finale without resorting to more morphling. Oleena had stormed off after the bloodbath, embarrassed to be associated with the oh-so-dreadful District 6, leaving me to drug up again.

I watched the little girl in the cornucopia, trying to find a place to hide in one of the bins. She tossed some of the weapons and leftover things out of them, before climbing in. She reminded me of the little girl that I had taught. She had been a sweet girl, and her brother was a nice boy. It was too bad that she had been killed by the career.

I suddenly tensed, remembering my arena. There was a little girl like the one on screen too. I didn't mean to kill her. I had just fallen, that was all. She had tried to stab me, so it wasn't my fault that I stabbed her in the neck with my spear. It wasn't my fault that the career had died in the rockslide, running after me. I hadn't meant to kill the boy from District 3, the one who said he wanted to become an inventor. If I had fallen into the trap he had made, he would be the one haunted by the ghosts of his past.

I took the shiny vial of morphling, turning it around in the light, before stabbing it into the veins of my arm. The morphling always helped. It never blamed me for winning the Hunger Games. It never blamed me for losing another tribute, leaving another family to sob in grief. It just comforted, and that was fine with me.

 **Clay Wolfe, District 2, 28, Victor of the 2nd Hunger Games**

I clutched at my arms in nervousness, resisting the urge to bite my nails as Caleb clambered his way onto the top of the cornucopia. Carolyn was just a bit behind him, yelling in rage as she moved up the golden metal. She was ready to fight Caleb, but Caleb didn't seem like he was ready for a finale. He seemed too nervous, too emotional from the leg wound to fight Carolyn. He stabbed his sword into the side of the cornucopia, using it to help him make his way onto the top, pulling himself onto the final battleground. He collapsed onto the top, trying to catch his breath as the rain started to fall onto the top of the mountain. The game makers wanted a dramatic finale, and they were about to get one; that is, it would be dramatic if Caleb managed to get up to his feet in time to fight Carolyn.

Carolyn hoisted herself up onto the top of the cornucopia, causing to Natalia to cry out in joy. Natalia was always very invested in her tributes, and this year was no exception. Caleb got up and stared warily at Carolyn. His leg was still badly cut, but the ointment I had sent him had scabbed up the wound. He could have a chance of winning the fight.

My heart sank as Caleb charged at Carolyn, glaring in rage at her. He had forgotten the words every volunteer was told: never, ever, lose your calm in the arena. Lose your calm, lose your life. At least Carolyn had broken that rule a couple of days ago. Natalia had been sitting through Carolyn spitting in rage at losing her allies, both the dead ones and Caleb. Carolyn was just as mad, if not madder, then Caleb. The only problem was that she was the stronger fighter.

 **Maddie Fey, District 7, 26, Victor of the 3rd Hunger Games**

I watched Joe walk into the room, sitting down heavily next to me. The couch creaked dangerously at his arrival but stayed upright. Capitol furniture was always sturdy in the tribute center. It was made by District 7, after all.

Joe slipped his arm around me and stared at the screen. "Who's winning?"

I laughed a little too hard, pointing at the rain-soaked girl attacking her District Partner like a wraith. "The career girl is outclassing her District Partner. Ten sesterces say he dies in the next ten minutes."

"You're on," Joe replied, shaking my hand in agreement. He got off of the couch and grabbed a bun from the table to start chewing. I laughed, pushing him as he sat back down on the couch.

"You big doofus. You've got to pig out in the Capitol ever since Percy died, while I had to suffer through three days of mentoring Caitlin. You're going to be way too spoiled to eat our humble food in District 7."

Joe patted his firm, muscled stomach in satisfaction, scratching behind his ear. "As long as I help out with the lumberjacks, I'll have burned enough calories to eat anything, especially those pancakes that you're so good at making in the mornings, Madds. I think I'll be fine."

The TV suddenly let loose a barrage of sounds, screeching filling the floor. I put my hands over my ears, pained by the screeches, and watched as OIive launched an axe into the head of one of the mutts.

 _Maybe it won't be a cakewalk for District 2 after all…_

 **Pollux Corinnius, 39, District 12 Mentor**

I dug my nails into my palms, watching Olive sprint away from the two mutts. She should have been dead at this point, but she had made her way out of that situation, and now she was ready to get away from the mutts. I groaned as she started to climb her way up the cornucopia, not bothering to take a couple of seconds and grab a weapon. She was fighting against trained killers, for goodness sake! She at least needed a knife to hold her own against the furiously fighting pair from District 2.

Looking over at the screens in the District 2 booth, however, I realized that wasn't necessarily the case. The boy and the girl were both tiring rapidly, with several small wounds bleeding on their dies, their legs, and their hands. All Olive needed to do was lie low, and I could finally escape this hellhole and party through the Games instead of mentoring starved Seam children!

Olive finally reached the top of the cornucopia, crouching behind the girl from District 2. I clucked my tongue in approval, even as Natalia started screaming at her scream as if it would alert her girl to Olive's presence. The boy saw Olive as he fought, but didn't say a thing. He continued to fight the girl, getting knocked down by her.

I clapped my hands in delight as the girl taunted the boy from Two, preparing to slaughter him. This was Olive's chance to free me from my nightmare job! Never mind that I totally ignored her and Konnor throughout the week before the Games, she could repay the favours I gave her of having an actual adult to supervise her - Arbour was too flighty to count as one - if she could wait until the girl killed the boy, preferably getting wounded by him in the process.

I facepalmed my forehead as Olive launched herself at the girl, knocking her off of the boy with a knife in his eye. The two girls tumbled down to the ground, conveniently in time for the remaining mutt to stalk out of the cornucopia.

I reached down for the bottle of champagne I had kept in case Konnor became the victor, and popped the cork. I needed a long night in the clubs to get over the fact that Olive had thrown away her victory to the mutts.

 **Natalia Haines, District 2, 24, Victor of the 8th Hunger Games**

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" I muttered to myself, my face paling as the cannon echoed throughout our mentoring centre. "It's all gone wrong, it wasn't supposed to end like this. What will I tell her parents?"

Clay looked over at me with a sad look on his face, Caleb having finally wrenched the knife out of his eye. At least he had only lost an eye. Carolyn would have no other chance to win the Games. She would be heading back to her family in a box, a pale, forgotten corpse.

I looked at the greyed out screen which had so recently shown the image of the girl who had wanted to win the Hunger Games so badly. She had had so much of her life to look forward to, yet it was already over. Carolyn had lost the game she had wanted so much to play. The bright eyes that had been so hopeful were now empty of life, staring glassily into the distance.

I wiped my eyes, and walked over to Clay, watching Caleb make his way to his feet. It was obvious he was going to win. All he had to do was wait out the mutt that was tearing the girl from Twelve to pieces, and claim his victory. The crowds wouldn't care that much about the finale, he had put up a good fight against Carolyn, even though she had rightfully beaten him. He would be able to come back home to District 2, our third victor.

I watched Clay's face, suddenly aware of the relief that was on it. With a shock, I realized that while I had lost 8 girls, Clay had lost so many more. He had only been able to save me out of all of the kids he had mentored, but now, he was getting another. He could finally rest in peace, knowing that my victory wasn't some fluke. I patted his back and grinned slightly at him. "Hey, you're getting another victor. What will you say to the press, man of the hour?"

Clay didn't glance away from the screen, clutching his hands in nervousness. "Well, first he has to wait out the mutt. And then -"

He stopped at the sight of Caleb jumping down on the mutt, distracting it away from Olive. The mutt roared and slashed him in the eye, blood spurting all over the cornucopia to be washed away by the torrent of rain.

I gazed at the screen in shock. "Well, fu-"

 **Anthonia Mallicent, 43, Head Game Maker**

I cursed loudly, enough to make the weather game maker jump in his seat. Caleb had just decided to screw everything up by attacking the mutt, and now, both of the final two were bleeding out rapidly. I looked over at the tribute screens, to see both of their vitals sinking rapidly. Olive's were going down much faster than Caleb, but it was still too close to properly judge who would die first. It might have to come down to a guess, choosing one to live while the other's cannon boomed, tricking the Capitol into thinking their death was moments earlier than it actually was. It always involved tremendous amounts of paperwork to sort the matter out, but we needed a victor. Sometimes, you had to take risks as a Head Game Maker.

"I want a hovercraft with a full medical crew ready to land in the arena, STAT!" I roared, causing one of the interns to rush to the phone. He'd have to notify them in the next minute if we were going to pull off this finale.

"Hey, boss, Caleb's standing up. Do you think that he'll kill Olive for us?" a game maker asked me, pointing at the screen where Caleb was struggling to his feet.

"Maybe he will!" I said, watching earnestly. If he managed to do that for us, that would clean up a lot of the mess that came with a finale. It was always so much easier to have the victor kill off the remaining tribute rather than losing the race to bleed out.

"Why is he going the wrong way?" another game maker asked, pointing at Caleb. In shock, I realized he was going the wrong way. Maybe he didn't know what he was doing. Delirium always ran high throughout the injured tributes.

"Boss, Olive's dead in the next minute. Do you want me to start her cannon early? We need every second we can get to help Caleb recover."

"Sure-" I exclaimed, just before Caleb took a run at the edge of the mountain, leaping off into the air. He fell a dozen feet before crashing into some of the rocks at the bottom of the mountain.

"Which one's dead?" I demanded, grabbing the collar of the game maker in charge of vitals. I held it tightly until his face went blue, before releasing him, letting him gasp for breath. "It's the… girl, Miss Mallicent."

I cursed again, watching the hovercraft come to pick up Caleb. "Well, I might as well kiss my job goodbye. At least we kept him alive. That situation would take some serious explaining to the President."

 **Clay Wolfe, District 2, 28, Victor of the 2nd Hunger Games**

I watched the hovercraft descend, picking up Caleb to bring him back to the Capitol. Another one descended, but for Carolyn and Olive instead. It wouldn't do to leave the remaining tributes to rot in the arena. The Capitol had discovered a recent trend of converting arenas into vacation areas.

I collapsed to the ground, trying to process what had just happened on the screen. Caleb had won, but he had also seemingly tried to kill himself while doing so. If he had stumbled to another side of the mountain, it would be Pollux who was trying to get ready for his victor.

Natalia slapped me heartily on the back, laughing in happiness. "Well, you've done it again, Clay! You've brought home another victor for District 2! No hard feelings about Carolyn, ok?"

"Sure." I uttered, managing a smile towards Natalia. "Now, let's get ready to greet our victor!"

Natalia snorted, and I laughed. We both knew that it would take at least a week for Caleb to be ready to be released from the hospital. The Capitol was always adamant about having their victors in the best shape possible for the interviews and the parade. It wouldn't do to have a victor vomit on the shoes of Belinda.

Valencina burst into the room, embracing me and Natalia. "Oh, we have a victor! This is so exciting! My first victor, and in only two years as an escort! My friends will be so envious. Ooh, I smell a promotion! Not that I don't love it in District 2, it's just good for an escort to look for opportunities. Oh, Caleb was always such a sweet boy. I can't wait to bring him back to District 2!"

I laughed again, smiling from ear to ear. "All in good time, my dear Valencina, all in good time. Now, I feel like treating you two ladies to the finest drinks the Capitol can buy! After all, it's not every year we get ourselves a victor."

 **Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2, Victor of the 14th Hunger Games**

Voices echoed throughout my head, yelling at me to wake up, wake up, get off of the ground. The mountain was feeling… so… soft all of a sudden.

 _Carolyn laughed at me, baring her teeth as she charged with her knife._ _"You think that it was that easy? We aren't playing games anymore, Caleb. It's your time to die."_

 _The girl from 12 stumbled towards me, her stomach wounds gaping widely. "Why didn't you help me more, Caleb? It wasn't your game to win. It was my victory. You stole it, and now you have to die."  
The two girls charged, and suddenly I was falling, falling, falling down into darkness. I couldn't see a thing. All that was left was me, falling into an eternal darkness._

I sat up with a gasp, horrified by the dreams that were running through my head. They were so vivid, so real, it was hard to distinguish between the arena and the dream.

I felt wires poking out of my arm, and touched them slightly. There was a slight sensation where they were injected into my body, but otherwise, I felt ok.

I heard a rustle next to my bed, and a masculine voice started to talk in concern. "Are you ok, Caleb? The doctors said that it was a difficult surgery. Is there anything wrong, or something that hurts a lot? You're in no rush."

"Clay?" I gasped, trying to make sense of what was happening. Where was I? Why wasn't I in the arena anymore? Why wasn't I fighting Carolyn and the girl from 12?

"Caleb, you won the Hunger Games. I don't know if you remember what happened, but you did win. Are you ok? Do you remember what happened?" Clay said, a note of concern in his voice.

"I remember, Clay," I said, fighting to keep the tremor of terror out of my voice, but failing. "But Clay, I don't know what's happening. Clay, I can't see."

 **DUH DUH DUH! We have a victor, albeit blind and terrified of the world! It was so fun to write the recaps in the mentors and game maker's POV, 'cause I got to relive the finale all over again! What did you guys think of our wonderful victor?**

 **Obituaries, because I rudely kept them from you last chapter to keep our victor Caleb a secret. Hopefully, you guys aren't too mad ;)**

 **3rd: Carolyn Blake, District 2 Female, killed by fall induced by Olive**

 **Carolyn, the villain of this story, and one of my favourite secondary characters. You were awesomely badass, and exactly what the story needed. Good job!**

 **2nd: Olive Blake, District 12 Female, killed by bear-mutt**

 **Oh, Olive, sweet Olive, everyone liked you, and I'm sorry to have killed you off. Your family was so nice, you were a strong and determined character, and you didn't deserve this death. I'm sorry. But, you were a great character, and your relationships with the others were really fun. If you lived, you would be tormented by losing Caitlin, so it was best for you to die. Your poor mother, she's likely weeping right now.**

 **Victor: Caleb Stamos, District 2 Male**

 **I have been waiting to make Caleb our victor since day One of this story, and I happily present him to you. I just love you and your dynamic character, full of flaws and full of amazing things. You are now blind, which kind of sucks, but I can teach you to learn Braille! Wonders never cease in this story!**

 **Well, the Games are over, and we have only a few more chapters to go. What did you guys think of our victor? Let me know in a review! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	23. The Victor's Interview

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2 Male, Victor of the 14th Hunger Games**

I tried to see any hint of light in the darkness that I was enshrouded in. I could see nothing. It was just blackness, nothingness for as far as I could see. Noises echoed all around me, the voices of concerned people asking about me, if I was alright, if I was going to be ok. I ignored them all. I had no idea what was happening right now, and I didn't care. I only saw things in my dreams now. Everything else was just darkness, a blur of noises and smells. I hated being so vulnerable, so alone. I had never felt more alone than I did now. I had never felt more trapped, more scared than I did now.

 _Maybe it would have been better for Olive to win. At least if I died, I wouldn't have to deal with this death on Earth._

"Caleb, are you listening?" a tittering feminine voice that I identified as Valencina, asked. "We're heading over to the interviews today. Isn't that exciting! You'll get to meet the interviewer, celebrate your victory, talk about the games, see your outfi-" she paused, suddenly remembering that I was still blind. I knew that even though I couldn't see it, Valencina's face was rapidly reddening. I reached out for her arm, and somehow finding it, patted it comfortingly. "It's ok, Valencina. You didn't mean it."

"Thank you, Caleb. Now, let us take you to the stylists! They've been waiting to get their hands on you!" Valencina said, guiding me through the hallways to where the stylists were. She deposited me on a firm bed-like object, where I sat until I heard the footsteps of my stylists echo throughout the halls. I had never paid attention to things like these, but now I heard the confidence of one of them walking through the halls, the shyness of another, taking care to walk lightly, and the happiness of the last one, seeming to almost skip as they walked into the room.

"Hello, hello, hello!" cried one of them, patting me on the back. "It's not every day that we get the opportunity to help style a victor! Oh, this will be so exciting!"

They instantly set to work, doing Panem-knows-what on my body. I occasionally felt the pain of body hair being ripped away all over, biting my lip fiercely as they did so. The stylists muttered to each other as they worked on me, fleeting sentences catching my ear as they did so.

"Did you think that… He doesn't deserve this happening… Poor thing, so dirty… Allegro won't like this very much… Does he need another wash? I think that… He'd love this if he could see it… "

In what felt like hours, the stylists worked away at me, cutting my hair, waxing my body, and cutting my nails. I didn't struggle for the most part, but when I felt lipstick being pressed against my lips, I turned my face, trying to keep it away. "No lipstick, no makeup, no facial stuff. I want to go out there looking like myself."

The stylists relented, staying away from my face except to clean it. They kept on cleaning my body, working on any speck of mud, dust, or uncleanliness until they finally stepped back, satisfied with their work. "There we go! I'm happy with how our victor looks. Do you think that Gianna will be satisfied with him?"

"Who's Gianna?" I asked, trying to follow the conversation. Last time I was styled, I had some guy named Corbinus. Did they always upgrade for the victor?

"Silly child, Gianna is the queen of stylists!" one of my prep team said reverently, no doubt crossing herself and bowing in reverence. "She only styles for the best tributes. She chose not to style this year, but for the victor, all step aside for Gianna. She will make you shine, my child!"

I wrinkled my nose, not anticipating how Gianna would decide to make me shine. Hopefully, it wouldn't be that bad. At least I wouldn't see myself looking like a fool to all of Panem. Seth would likely be laughing when I came onto the stage. With my luck, I wouldn't make it to the Victor's seat without falling. Maybe peacekeepers could help me…

My stylists suddenly started to scurry around me, putting me into certain clothes and trying on things before ripping them off, replacing them with others. From the pace they were going by now, Gianna must have arrived. I could hear them muttering to each other, mentioning her name. Why was she so big? All she did was making clothes, nothing else. In District 2, no one really cared about clothes. Style was secondary to production.

"Is this my masterpiece?" A shrill voice demanded, piercing my ears with the tone it used. I winced as the woman, presumably Gianna, started to yell at the prep team. "Are you imbeciles? Look at what you have done to him! Take away that horrid colour, blue is not appropriate at all for a man of stone! We need to make him look strong, look fierce, not this delicate little flower that I see here. Did you put frills on him? Imbeciles! Frills are for flowers, and this man is a victor! Undress him of this monstrosity immediately!"

The stylists responded instantly to her commands, putting on new things. I let them work quickly, unsure of if I would look wonderful or not.

"Now that, that is what I envisioned for this victor!" Gianna cried in joy, patting me on the back. "What a wonderful specimen we have here! The crowd will just adore him. He is ready! I am done!"

One of the stylists grabbed my hand and escorted me out to the hallway, where I could hear Valencina talking quietly to someone else. When she saw us, I heard her squeal in delight, throwing her arms around me. "Caleb! You look stunning! Let's take you to the interviews. I trust that the stylists didn't hurt you too badly? Never mind, we're off to the races! We must hurry!"

Valencina pulled me along the crowded hallway, weaving me in and out of all sorts of people. I heard the surprised murmurs of them as they watched me go by, likely looking at the victor who was being guided by his escort. That surely must have been an interesting sight to see.

I kept walking through the halls, hoping that we would finally arrive at CCT Studios. That was where the interviews were held each year, with Capitolites spending thousands of sesterces to get front row seats. Now, I would be the next victor to be interviewed there, with thousands of people hanging onto my every word.

" _Don't screw up. You've got a lot of time and Belinda is there to help you shine. If you don't feel comfortable with a question, just change the subject. I believe in you. After all, you did make it through an arena with 23 other kids trying to kill you._ " The advice of Clay during the past few days echoed through my mind, cementing itself there for the interviews. He had been spending the past few days with Valencina to make sure that I was ready, practicing questions with me over and over.

"Well, here we are! Best of luck, my dear Caleb!" Valencina said, helping me onto the stage. I felt the hot glare of the camera lights hitting my skin, and the crowd seemed to burst into applause as one. I stumbled towards the direction of which I thought that Belinda was seated, waiting for me, and to my relief, she helped me to my seat. The crowd kept cheering for another minute, then settled down as Belinda said something for attention. They were all eager to meet their newest victor.

"Hello, hello, hello, my dearest Capitol! Welcome to the interviews for our 14th Victor ever of the Hunger Games, Caleb Stamos of District Two!" She cried, sending the crowd into another round of applause. They quieted quickly, and Belinda kept on speaking. I heard her crack a few jokes for the benefit of the audience, and then the footage of the Games started. As they played for the audience, Belinda whispered quietly to me what was happening. The reapings were the first to come on, with about fifteen minutes dedicated to that. As the crowd watched me volunteer, I remembered the look on Caitlin's face as she volunteered for that little girl. Was the little girl at home right now, crying in her mother's arms?

The reapings soon ended, and after that, the parade, which Belinda didn't bother to whisper about, then the interviews. I listened to myself chatting with Belinda, slyly complimenting her on her dress and likely blowing kisses to the audience. I had no idea what was going to happen back then. I was a fool.

The Games started right after that. The crowd watched in rapture, some screaming at the cannons, but I sat in my seat and stared into nothingness. There was no point for me to say anything. I couldn't see it. I remembered watching the girl from six die, killing the boy from five, and fighting with the bear mutt in an effort to save Olive. Finally, I listened to the gasps of the audience as they watched me plummet off of the mountain, down onto the rocks just as Olive's cannon boomed to the skies. The hovercraft swooped down instantly, making a whirring sound which wasn't loud enough to conceal the worried murmurs of the crew as they brought me in. The sound came to an end, and I listened to the audience give a large round of applause. It must have been over, though I wouldn't be a fair judge at that.

I listened to the rustle of Belinda's dress as she turned towards me, and I straightened up. "Hello, my dear Belinda! I would believe that it's now time for the interview portion of this night. Am I right, or do I just have something stuck on my face?"

The audience burst into laughter, chortling at my wit. I grinned involuntarily. I could distract them from my real emotions if I kept them laughing.

"My, my, my, Mr. Stamos, you have a silver tongue! Now, what does that tongue of yours think about what happened when Carolyn killed Cierra?"

I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. The audience waited patiently, and I replied smoothly. "I was worried that she wasn't going to die sooner. Carolyn stole my kill, so I was mad about that."

Belinda waited for the crowd to give murmurs of approval, then launched into her next question. "And why did you make the bodies ready for the hovercrafts?"

"They were formidable opponents," I replied, nodding to the audience. "I would hope that anyone of them would have done that for me in my place."

The crowd applauded, and I relaxed a little. The next couple of questions were all about my relationships with the careers, and I replied with ease. I talked about how I had left the group to go on my own, my reunion with them, in which Valour met his death, and the way I had almost died at the hands of audience enjoyed it, laughing at the jokes I made during the interview, and gasping in shock as I described the wounds I had gotten inside of the arena. They were gone now, of course. The Capitol spared no expenses for a victor. They did everything in their power to make me perfect; everything, of course, but fix my eyes. That was impossible.

"And now, Caleb, you are here! How does it feel to be a victor?"

I paused, staring into the blank space of my eyes, where the audience was likely watching me with bated breath. How did it feel to be a victor? It felt horrible. I felt better in the arena, where I could control my own fate. Here, I was just a puppet for the media, doomed to a life of blindly talking to people. I had killed innocent children to get to this seat, I had volunteered in order to get this opportunity. Would I have even trained if I knew what it would be like, what sorts of things victors had plaguing their minds?

"I feel great!" I said, smiling at the crowd. "After all, I get to see all of you here today."

 **Hi guys! I finally updated again, so don't yell at me XD Only the victory tour and the epilogue to go! Eeeh! Then, I'll be done, and we can move onto Impossible. Isn't that crazy? Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Read and review! Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ**


	24. Mended

**Caleb Stamos, 17, District 2, Victor of the 14th Annual Hunger Games**

I listened to the train rush through the tunnel Clay had told me we were traveling through, wooshing through the air like a bird. I smiled, tracing my hand across the leather seat I was seated upon. It was a comforting sound. I was heading home.

"Caleb, you ok?" a feminine voice asked. I identified the bubbly enthusiasm in the voice as Natalia, and stood up to greet her. I knew that she preferred to talk to people face to face.

"Yeah, I'm good," I said, looking to see if I could spot any light in my vision. Ever since I had become blind, I had seen flashes of colour - or at least I thought I did. The doctors said that my mind would play tricks on me, as if it was trying to fill the darkness with light. It was something to do with my optic nerves being damaged heavily or something like that. I hadn't paid much attention to him when he had explained to me what had happened to my eyes, only five minutes after I had woken up from anesthesia. I preferred to think of it as little miracles, appearing to remind me of how lucky I was. It was better than just being depressed again. That darkness was worse than blindness; it didn't just blind you, it blinded you from the kindness of others. I didn't want to do that again.

"Great, great. We're pulling into District 2 in about the next ten minutes. Are you ready? There's going to be a lot of people. Clay says he'll help you if you feel overwhelmed." Natalia said, a worried note in her voice. She was worried about how I'd cope with thousands of excited citizens cheer for me. Truthfully, I didn't know how I would cope with it either. I didn't like crowds, even when I could still see, and now they just felt like a cage of sound. I just wanted to go back home, not be obsessed over by a crowd of excited citizens. At least peacekeepers would line the path into the station. I wouldn't be able to stand people able to run up to me without being restrained. Not after the Games.

I heard the train whistle as it pulled into the station. I stood up and reached for Natalia's arm. The screams of excited citizens from the District were growing louder now that the train had stopped.

Valencina walked ahead of us. I listened to the taps of her high heels walk out of the train and greet the crowd, causing them to yell louder than they had before. They had good reason to do so. I was their third victor, the most of any district. Clay had told me that people who had bet on me to win were now rich. It was strange to think that they benefitted off of me killing twenty-three other children. It almost felt blasphemous.

Natalia guided me towards the exit, and the crowd erupted into cheers. I walked stiffly through the crowd, trying to ignore the loud sounds and shrill screams of excited children. It felt so loud, so nerve-wracking. I felt even blinder now than I had before.

 _Bang!_

I jumped back at the sound, pushing against the crowd to get away from it. It was the arena all over again; I felt the warm blood dripping down my shoulders from the boy who had exploded. It was in my hair, it was in my eyes, it was in my ears, it was drowning me in the crowd! I pushed against someone and fell, huddling up into a small ball to protect myself. I just wanted to go home. I just wanted to hide in my room. Nothing could get me in my room. It was safe there.

* * *

Natalia told me after the crowd was beaten away from me and order was restored that it was just a harmless man with a water cannon who had hit us. He was drunk and happy about District Two getting another victor, so he thought it would be fun to drench us. He was currently being held in the peacekeeper's headquarters on charges of attempted murder.

After the trains, we were whisked into the mayor's mansion, where we were treated to dinner with his family and several high ranking officials. I was surreptitiously seated next to his daughter, who seemed embarrassed that her father wanted to match me up with her. After an uncomfortable first course, we bonded over the deliciousness of the pork roast in the second, spending the next hour chatting about the others at the table and snickering to ourselves about how sloppily the head of the peacekeepers ate. She told me that he had small stains all over his tie, and I pointed out the way he fidgeted in his seat and talked with his mouth full, making several sounds obviously repulsing the mayor's wife, whom I heard muttering to herself about the uncouth people of the Capitol. After the dinner ended, she told me her name was Elizabeth, handing me a small handkerchief of thanks. I stuffed it in my pocket and said goodbye, heading off to Victor's Village with Natalia and Clay. It was finally over. I was going home.

As the car driving us to the village drove through the streets, I sat down, waiting to arrive at my house. It had been so long since I had last seen my family. Mom was away, but Dad and Seth were home. Would they be waiting for me?

The car soon pulled up to the house, stopping to let the three of us out. Clay put a hand on my shoulder, helping me walk through the front door of the house. Natalia walked behind, wringing her hands loudly. I stopped at the door, fumbling for the knob. It was always on the right side, around three feet up. This was it. I opened the door, stepping into the house. "Hello? Anyone home?"

Someone pounded down the stairs, whooping for joy as they came to crush me in a hug. "You're home, C! You're home!"

I hugged Seth back tightly, feeling several new scars on his back that I hadn't felt before. "What happened to your back?"

Seth paused, seeming to look back at someone for approval before confessing. "When you were gone, I got arrested for assault and battery in one of the bars. I beat up a guy who kept yelling that you were a little traitor who didn't deserve to live after you abandoned the careers. I got thirty lashes for that."

I nodded tensely, letting go of Seth. "At least you're safe. Is Dad home?"

I heard Dad run from the kitchen, hugging me tightly as his beard scratched against my face. It felt like home. "Is it really you, Caleb?"

I laughed, hugging Dad tightly. "It's me, Dad. I'm home!"

I boarded the train reluctantly, sitting down in the closest seat to the window and waiting to get the victory tour over with. It had been so long since when I had to think about the Games, think about the people I killed. After the first few months, I stopped seeing them in my dreams. Now, I only heard them whenever thunderstorms hit the district. I hated them after the arena. I hid in my room, safely away from any windows that the lightning could get through. I was safe there.

* * *

Valencina tittered as she waved goodbye to the camera crew who had filmed me in our new house. The audience had a good laugh over my comical fall in the snow of the district while walking to the train, and Belinda had asked me about what I had done in the past few months.

 _I had tried to forget the Capitol, Belinda. Why do you think I'd want to remember the Games?_

"Just one more, Caleb." I instinctively turned at the sound of Clay's voice, looking up to where he should have been before blushing. My sight wouldn't come back. "You just need to do this victory tour, and then it's all over. No one will ask you questions about the Games, no one will present you to Panem by yourself. All you have to do is go out onto the stage, say a couple of words, and go out. You'll be back in no time."

* * *

The crowd booed when I walked onto the stage in District One.

I hadn't been the one to kill Valour; that honour belonged to Konnor, but his grandmother still spat at my feet when I was led to his family to share my condolences. I didn't see the peacekeepers run up and drag the screaming woman away, but I heard her painful screams as we were dining for supper. The peacekeepers had made sure to whip her close enough to the mayor's house so that I could hear her being punished. For the first time since the arena, I was glad I was blind.

* * *

District Three was silent when I came onto the stage.

I didn't know either of the tributes who had died in the Games from District 3. I remembered the boy stepping off of his pedestal, of course, but the girl had seemed to fade into the background. She might have died on the first or second day, but for all I knew, she was never there. She was just another number to the Capitol, one that would be filed away and kept for a sunny day when they brought up my Games again. She was now an afterthought.

When I finished my speech, I nervously walked towards the families with the help of Natalia. I held out my hand and shook the hand of who Natalia told me was the boy's mother, then approached the family of the girl. They all shook my hand silently, hiding away their rage and sorrow from me. I could still feel it in the nervousness and anger of their grips on my hand. The girl wasn't a number to them.

* * *

District Four seemed joyful as I walked along the streets of the coastal capital of the district.

I remembered the girl from Four, and Reefe was always on my mind. They could have blamed me for letting Reefe fall off the log, but his family seemed to almost be at peace when I came to express my condolences. The girl's family could have blamed me for not trying to see if the girl wanted to be a career, but they instead invited me to swim in the sea after the speeches. I enthusiastically agreed, and with the help of Clay, who was a surprisingly good swimmer, I learned to stand up on a surfboard. I fell off as soon as a larger wave hit the board, but Craig, one of the victors from Four, helped me back to shore. It was relaxing to just go swim in the water and forget about the victory tour.

* * *

After District Four, I felt refreshed and ready for District Five. The sunny beaches and the calm of the people seemed to have renewed my energy. I was ready for anything that District Five would throw at me. That was, of course, before the crowd started to throw rocks at me.

"Murderer!" one screamed as they stung me with what felt like a small pebble. I pushed over the microphone stand and tried to run away from the rocks, not paying attention to the gunshots that were being fired in the square. Suddenly, my feet met the air, and I tumbled into the crowd, landing on my back and curling up into a small ball. They yelled at me as peacekeepers grabbed me and ran me into the Justice Building, gunshots and screams filling the air again.

* * *

I didn't want to go into District 6 when the train arrived.

"You didn't even kill the siblings!" Clay said, patting me on the back as I cradled my sprained wrist, the mark from the rock that hit it still poking out from the splint. I groaned. "But someone will get mad at me for not doing something about it, Clay. Didn't you have to deal with this?"

"No one had thought of victory tours when I won the games, Caleb!" Clay laughed, pulling me out of my seat and steering me to the door. "We're just here for a day. All you have to do is say something to the crowd."

I grinned miserably, walking with Clay to the Justice Building. The wind was harsh today, blowing across the streets like a whirling dervish. It cut into my body, seeming to tear strips away of my skin.

I hurried up, almost losing Clay as I tried to get away from the wind. He quickly guided me into the Justice Building, and after a costume change, I went out to the crowd and said something about how the two siblings seemed to be nice people. The crowd remained silent, almost as if they were staring at me. I cringed. The last time the crowd had gone silent on the victory tour, they had sprained my wrist with a rock.

There was no one representing the family of the siblings, so I said my condolences to their mentor, Doug. He seemed tired, his breathing low and long. "Cierra was such a nice little girl. Ed was a good brother to her."

I nodded, letting Clay guide me into the building. I didn't know how to reply to that.

* * *

District Seven was quiet as well.

I spoke to the crowd about how Percy seemed like a nice person and how Caitlin was a worthy opponent, expressing my regret that they didn't make it further. Honestly, I only remembered Caitlin's bravery as she crossed the river on the log. That was the only place I really saw her in the Games. There was no one to greet her family, so the female victor from Four, Maddie, took their place.

"Thank you, Caleb," she said, shaking my hand firmly. "Thank you for trying to help Olive."

I smiled slightly, shaking her hand firmly. It just felt strange in District Seven. It was different than any other district. They kept their emotions behind locked doors.

* * *

The next few days flew by, and with them, the speeches for District Eight, Nine, Ten, and Eleven. It was all the same in each one. They applauded slightly when I spoke and did their best to be cordial when I ate at the mayor's house, but I still felt the silent glares on my back. They knew that I had helped to stop their children from coming back home. In a way, I had helped kill all of the other tributes. I was just another murderer to them. Every night there, I woke up from nightmares about the families trying to murder me for what I did to their children. They always had the same faces as tributes in the Games, but I knew it was them. I could hear their voices in my nightmares.

* * *

As the train stopped in District Twelve, I breathed a sigh of relief. It was just tonight, and then I could go back home. I would be free of the Games, free of the tour, free of the guilt that had plagued me in my dreams each night. It was just this last speech, this last dinner, and it would all be over.

I walked onto the stage with the help of Natalia, finding the microphone and saying the words I had been practicing with the help of Valencina. I told the crowd that I was sorry for what had happened to Konnor and Olive, thanking Olive's family for her sacrifice and expressing sorrow for Konnor's death. As I walked up to Olive's family, I was surprised by a fierce hug.

"Thank you," said Olive's mother, handing me a piece of jewelry. "You tried so hard, in the end, to help Olive after she saved you. Us Blakes will not forget you. Olive would have wanted you to have her necklace. Please, take it. Remember our baby girl."

I hugged the sobbing woman tightly, tears trickling down my face. Olive didn't deserve to die. She was too good for the Games. She should have been the victor. She should have been the one to comfort my crying family. But fate handed me the victory, and I was forced to take it. I would live life for Olive. I would live life for the tributes of the Fourteenth Hunger Games.

* * *

The train pulled up at the station, letting a piercing whistle ring through the District of Two. I smiled, standing up and waiting to grab onto Natalia's or Clay's arm. I was home.

I waved goodbye to where Valencina was, walking out of the train. A limousine was already there for us, waiting to drive us home to Victor's Village. It was strange to think that the place that children spoke in awe of, an unimaginable place of luxury in our district of grey, was now my home. I would get to live there with my brother and father, and Mom would come live here as soon as her tour of duty ended. We could be a family again, untouched by the Capitol and the Games. We could go back to normality.

The limousine sped through the streets, arriving quickly at Victor's Village. I grinned, stepping out of the limousine and taking uncertain steps to where I thought my new house was. If I was correct, it was roughly around fifty steps forward, then a turn to the right to walk directly to the door.

I counted the steps as I walked forward, concentrating on the ground. It was hard in certain spots, then softer where you could feel the grass of the lawns spill partially onto the street. I reached fifty steps, then turned onto the grass of my lawn. I walked up to the porch, feeling my way to the steps of it and walking into the house. I was home.

"I'm so sorry, Caleb," Dad said, hugging me tightly as I opened the door. "Seth was a good man. He didn't deserve this."

"What happened to Seth?" I asked, pulling myself away from Dad. Natalia and Clay walked into the door, murmuring quietly to one another. "Was he hurt? Is he ok?"

"We didn't want to scare you, Caleb," Natalia said, touching my shoulder gently. I pushed her away, raising my voice. "What happened to Seth? What happened to my brother?"

"They found him at the bottom of a cliff. It was declared an accidental fall. It could have happened to anybody." Clay paused after he announced this, waiting for it to sink in. I gasped, covering my mouth in horror. "Is… he ok?"

"I'm sorry, Caleb," Dad said, hugging my tightly. I sank into his embrace, closing my eyes and shutting everything else out. Seth, my brother, my protector, my mentor, was dead. He died in the way I had tried to kill myself. He was gone.

 _Twenty four people died in the 14th Hunger Games…_

* * *

 _Two Years Later_

The days at home seemed to dance by, flying away into those beautiful sunsets that I would never see again. I spent most of my time at home, just spending time with my Dad. After the Games and Seth's… departure, I knew I wanted that more than ever.

Natalia had recently started to teach me how to dance. She had started to after I had idiotically remarked that I had nothing to do here, leading her to instantly teach me how to waltz. I enjoyed swinging around the room with her, laughing as I spun her around. It was nice to just have something normal in my life. So much had changed already.

After expressing horror over how I was now unable to read, Valencina spent regular visits teaching me a language for the blind called 'Braille'. I quickly learned the letters and pieced them together in a matter of weeks, learning how to read all over again. It was funny to think that I used to hate sitting still. Now I did so for hours, trying to decipher certain phrases in Braille.

Right now, I was sitting in my room, reading a book of poems from the Capitol. "And they sank into a rhythm, never… stepping out of time," I said aloud, feeling the words again to make sure that I wasn't misinterpreting the verse. I had done so too many times before.

"Caleb, oh Caleb, we need you now!" the voice of Natalia shouted, her footsteps running into the hall and into my room. I stood up, dropping the book of poems. "What is it?"

"The academy is burning down." I gasped, feeling for Natalia's arm and letting her guide me towards the car. How could the academy have burned down? It was the only thing helping District Two train volunteers. Sure, it was a ragtag thing, but it was a safeguard for the district. We needed the academy to stay.

The car soon pulled up at where it was, letting Natalia pull me out and run to where the academy was burning. I felt the sheer heat from the fire on my face, droplets of sweat already forming on my face. Smoke choked my throat and I coughed as Natalia guided me to Clay. She stopped next to a thorny bush that scratched against my calf, talking to Clay worriedly. "What happened? Is anyone hurt?"

Clay coughed as he replied. "Faulty wiring burned it down. It's all gone, Natalia. It's all over."

Natalia choked up, obviously trying not to cry. I heard Clay sniffle quietly, holding back his tears. Everything that they had worked for so that our district could have volunteers had gone up in flames. It was all over. Unless…

"We'll rebuild," I heard myself saying confidently to Clay and Natalia. They paused in their sorrow, surprised that I had said something. "I'll have you two oversee the rebuilding, but we must change the way the academy is. We can't have cocky kids going into the Games like they own the world. We need to recruit people who are willing to fight to win. That is how we will bring them home. That is how we will save the academy. That is how we will make our future."

 **And… done. I originally planned for another chapter, but I ultimately decided to put these two together. I really enjoyed this journey! Caleb will now become the headmaster of the academy, and he will help recruit and train kids for District Two. I think that's a fitting ending, letting a broken man help find purpose by saving others. What did you think of this story? I remember when I first started it I just wanted to write, but it morphed into something more. My writing improved drastically, and now here we are, with a finished story. I am very proud of myself for having completed my first story, and I hope you are too.**

 **Now, I must give thanks for all who've helped me with this. It wouldn't have been such a great journey without you guys!**

 **FanGirlForever19: You were my first supporter. Thanks for being here every step of the way.**

 **RadioFreeDeath: Your review inspired me to start critiquing my writing. Thank you!**

 **The Girl With The Knives: You helped me continue with your reviews during most of the story. Thanks for supporting me!**

 **Ways: Your reviews inspired me to finish strong. Thank you for your honest opinion.**

 **All of those who followed and faved: Thanks for supporting my little story! I hope you'll leave a review of what you thought of the story, now that it's over.**

 **If you want to see more of my writing, check out my other works! For the last time, TheAmazingJAJ**


End file.
